Despite Everything
by LokiKitteh
Summary: Loki's punishment was far more horrible than what he deserved but what happens when he wakes up on Midgard in Stark Tower, home of the Avengers he had fought only a year ago? Will Loki just find more scorn, hatred, and betrayal awaiting him or, despite everything, has he found a home? *is bad at summaries* First Fanfic. Be easy on me but I love tips and pointers.
1. Found

**Okay, so this is my first fic and I'm quite nervous posting this. Anyway, I would love to get some tips and reviews so that I can improve my writing (or typing). And I also want to know if this is good enough to continue and if I do continue should I have any pairings? Well thanks and enjoy!**

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"Loki Laufeyson -" Odin paused for a moment as he looked at his two sons. "for your atrocious and intolerable acts against Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim, you will be sent back to your 'allies' and they may punish you as they deem fit."

The crowd roared. Some thought this as a punishment fit for the traitor while others screamed profanities and opinions as to how the second prince should be punished.

Loki's eyes widened as he took in what was to happen to him. They were sending him back, back to Them, back to Him. He shook his head furiously and felt tears welling up in his eyes. The muzzle still held his mouth shut and his hands were bound behind his back by the same metal bands bracelets that kept his magic at bay. He looked up at Thor from where he had been forced to kneel on the ground. Surely Thor wouldn't allow the Allfather to do this. Thor looked down at Loki with sadness and disappointment in his eyes. Loki tried to say something, tried to tell them that he hadn't meant it, that he couldn't have stopped if he'd tried, but he only felt the metal biting into his skin, drawing blood that slowly trickled down his neck. Loki looked up to where Odin was sitting and his eyes drifted to the left where Frigga was. He could see the tears dripping off her chin. Tearing his eyes away from her, he stared down at the floor.

Within seconds he heard the faint whooshing sound as the portal opened and the crowd fell silent. Loki swallowed, though his mouth and throat were dry, and he looked up at Thor again, pleading with his eyes. Thor just looked down at him and shook his head before turning his attention to the vast, black portal that had opened. Loki was still staring at the floor when two black, malformed feet stepped into his field of vision. He furrowed his brow in confusion before looking up and seeing the sneering face of the Other.

Loki flinched back and tried to get up, scrambling away from the Chitauri General, but Thor held him back and only watched as the Other took the chains that connected Loki's wrists. He struggled uselessly against the Other, the bracelets also biting into his skin and drawing blood but Loki didn't care, he refused to back There. The Other started to drag Loki back towards the portal but soon resorted to having two other Chitauri do it for him. Through it all though, Loki continued to struggle against them and two other Chitauri had to be used to finally pull him through.

The Other smiled and looked at Odin and Thor. "We thank you for your cooperation." The voice sent chills down Thor's spine and he automatically tensed up, his hand gripping Mjolnir's handle tightly.

Odin nodded once and watched as the Chitauri General retreated through portal. He then looked out at the crowd and simply said, "Dismissed." The Aesir quickly left and soon Odin also left the room, leaving Frigga and Thor staring at the place where Loki had been just moments earlier...

Loki still fought even after the portal had closed. He refused to believe that his family had just betrayed him, that he was back on the barren wasteland, that the torture would resume. He still didn't fully believe it until he was forced to his knees and his wrists and ankles were chained to the ground. One of the Chitauri soldiers behind him grabbed a handful of his hair and wrenched his head back.

A tall, dark throne stood before him, just barely visible against the blackness of space. Skulls and bones littered the floor behind it. Loki started shaking and nearly hyperventilating when he saw the figure sitting on the throne, fingering the blade of a large sword. The figure stood up and trudged forward, the blade hanging limply in his hand, trailing along the ground with a loud scraping noise. The figure finally stepped into a bit of light shining from one of the steps in front ot the throne, revealing purple skin, golden armour, and crimson eyes shining with greed and malevolence.

"Ahhh, my pet. You've finally returned have you?" Thanos' deep, chilling voice sent shivers down Loki's spine. Thanos reached down and yanked the muzzle off of Loki's face, not bothering to undo the clamps on either side of his jaw and tearing skin off the sides of his face. Loki only inhaled sharply through his nose, refusing to give the Titan the joy of his pain. Thanos snarled and drove the sword through Loki's right shoulder. Loki clenched his jaw and only allowed a small whimper to escape him. The Titan laughed and picked up a whip that had been lying beside his throne and unfurled it, before stepping behind Loki and pulling his shirt off. Loki had barely registered the crack of the whip through the air before pain shot through his back.

"I will have you begging for mercy within the hour you worthless, Jotun runt," Thanos whispered in his ear and unfortunately for Loki, that statement was carried through, over and over and over.

* * *

_One year later..._

Loki sat in the corner of his small cell, his knees pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He fought to stay conscious as the pain washed over him in waves. After a few minutes, he felt his resolve weakening and just as his vision started to darken, a flash of bright golden light washed over him and he felt the sensation of weightlessness before he slipped into the dark embrace.

...

Tony sat on the large couch infront of the plasma screen TV on the floor nicknamed "The Family Floor" due to the fact that most of the Avengers team would usually hang around together there. At the moment, Bruce was in the lab, Steve was on the Rec. floor, and Clint and Natasha were off on some work for Fury. Tony picked up his bottle of scotch and took a large gulp of it before Jarvis interrupted his thoughts.

_"Sir, it appears as though a portal has opened just outside of the city, it is similar to those caused by Mr. Odinson," _Jarvis announced.

Tony sighed and set his bottle back on the coffee table. "Not a moment's peace. Jarvis, send the coordinates to the Mark IX."

_ "Already done, sir."_

"Well, excuse me," Tony said sarcastically as he pushed himself up from his seat, swaying slightly before turning to get his suit.

Tony arrived at the site a few minutes later. It was a small clear field and in the middle of it, there was a circle of Norse runes. He landed slightly off to the side and it took him only a moment to see the figure lying in the middle, curled in upon himself.

The tattered cloth covering his body was soaked in blood and his inky black, matted hair was splayed out around him. Tony furrowed his brow and knelt beside the figure, slowly uncurling him before stepping back in shock.

It was Loki.

The same Loki that had nearly destroyed New York only a year ago. Tony stared in shock at the figure before slowly regaining the use of his voice. "Jarvis, scan his vitals now."

_"He is alive sir, but barely. His heartbeat is nearly twice what it should be and he has suffered from massive blood loss."_

Tony sighed. "Damn it, I am not cut out for this." He had no idea what to do. Loki had thrown Tony out of his own window only a year earlier and now he lay before him, beaten and broken. He looked as though he had been tortured. Tony flinched at the thought. His own torture in Afghanistan constantly loomed in his mind, but Loki looked as if he had been through something a thousand times worse. Against his better judgement, he leaned down and slowly picked up the injured god before taking off towards his tower.

His landing was unsteady at best and he nearly fell but he stumbled into the wall and used it to regain his balance. Tony walked inside and set Loki on the couch before taking off the suit. Tony drew a few unsteady breaths before running his hand through his hair and picking Loki up again. This time, he carried Loki down to the medical floor where he could at least attempt to take care of him.

Tony laid him on a medical bed and seeing the blood already staining the sheets he ran his hands through his hair and sighed. "There is no way I can do this," then he spoke up. "Jarvis, tell Banner to get his ass up here now!"

_"Done sir," _his AI replied. Within a few minutes there was an urgent knock on the door and Tony quickly stepped out, hoping to avoid 'the Other Guy'.

"What is it Tony? Who's hurt?" Bruce sounded urgent and kept trying to push past Tony to get through the door.

"Bruce, you have to promise me you won't flip out," Tony said slowly.

"But Tony-," Bruce started.

"No buts. Promise me."

"Okay, okay I promise."

Tony hesitated for a second before stepping to the side and following Bruce in. Bruce paused the second he saw those two green eyes staring at him. "Um, Tony, you realize this is Loki, right?"


	2. Fixed Up

**Okay, so I've decided to continue this for now. So far, I'm rather happy with it too and thanks a lot to my reviewers! As of right now, there won't be a pairing. This may or may not change.**

**I do not own any of these characters. **

**Enjoy!**

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Loki slowly opened his eyes expecting to see the familiar darkness of his cell only to be greeted by a white ceiling. Loki jumped and quickly sat up, immediately regretting it as he propped himself up against the headboard. This wasn't his cell, by the looks of it it was a medical room but not like the ones on Asgard. He was on Midgard. Loki shuddered as he heard voices outside of the door just before it opened.

He stared at them for a second, realizing that it was Bruce Banner and Tony Stark before he scrambled off the bed, whimpering in pain when he hit the ground and jarred his already broken bones. Loki curled in on himself in the corner, the farthest he could get from the two Avengers. "Woah, Loki! It's okay," Tony said. "It's okay Loki, we're not going to hurt you." He started to walk towards Loki, who tensed up, but Bruce put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.

Bruce walked to the end of the bed before dropping to his hands and knees and crawling over to Loki. He tilted his head down and dropped his voice to just above a whisper. "Loki, I just want to help and clean up your wounds. I'd feel horrible if you died because I didn't do anything to help you." Loki furrowed his brow and his gaze went up to Bruce with a look that said_, "Why would you want to help me?"_

"Come on, get back on the bed," Bruce placed one hand under Loki's elbow and gently helped him up. He climbed slowly onto the bed, hoping to avoid more pain.

"Jarvis, full body scan," Tony said, pulling a medical kit from the cabinet.

After a few seconds, Jarvis responded. "Mr. Laufeyson appears to have four broken ribs, broken right collarbone, three fingers on right hand, two on left, three twos on the left foot and four on right, broken left tibia, broken right ulna, fractured left radius, sprains in both wrists and a sprain in his left ankle. He is also severely malnourished and dehydrated."

By the time Jarvis was done Bruce and Tony stood wide-eyed and open-mouthed. Bruce rubbed his temples before walking up to Loki. "Muzzle first," he said. Loki flinched but otherwise remained still as Bruce reached behind his head and pushed on the clamps, unlocking them and pulling the muzzle off. The skin under and around the muzzle was covered in cuts and bruises and the skin on the sides of his jaw looked raw. Loki only opened his mouth slightly a drew a few ragged breaths but otherwise remained silent. Bruce then grabbed the bottom of Loki's shirt and started pulling it off, only for Loki to whimper in pain. Bruce sighed and grabbed a pair of scissors instead, cutting off the piece of wet, black cloth. With each inch of lacerated skin unveiled, Tony barely kept from gagging and leaving the room. Gashes and stab wounds covered Loki's body and his back had barely any skin on it, showing only lacerated muscle. "Loki, what...Who did this do you?"

Loki flinched back and his shaking returned. He squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to force out a bad memory. "It-It was...Thanos."

Bruce looked at Tony, who shrugged, and Bruce turned back to Loki pulling out some gauze and disinfectant. "Well, you're fine here, you're safe now. " Loki looked back at Bruce, unshed tears in his eyes.

"Why would you help me?" He choked out.

This time Tony spoke up. "Because I don't give a damn who you are or what you've done but torture isn't right." Loki just stared at his hands, his wrists ringed with cuts and bruises.

After a few hours, Bruce and Tony finally managed to clean and bandage Loki's wounds and broken bones. Loki hadn't said anything else, the only noise coming from him being the occasional whimper of pain or his ragged breaths.

Tony and Bruce sat back on the small couches on either side of the bed. "Well, now that that's done with, we need to get some food and drink into ya," Tony said. "I'll be right back." Bruce rolled his eyes as Tony left the room.

...

Tony rode the elevator up to the family floor where the pizza left over from last night was still in the oven. He grabbed three plates from the cabinet and pulled the pizza out, putting three pieces on each plate before grabbing two cups and his bottle of scotch.

"There you are Tony," a voice said from behind him.

Tony jumped and nearly dropped his scotch. "Shit you scared me...Don't do it again Spangles."

Steve rolled his eyes. "Where've you and Bruce been?"

"We were in the lab," Tony easily lied.

"Oh really? 'Cause I just went down there and you were nowhere to be seen. Jarvis informed me that Bruce was on the medical floor and you were headed up here so I thought I'd ask you."

Tony sighed. He knew he wouldn't be able to keep Loki a secret from the rest of the Avengers for much longer. "Fine, I'll show you. Help me carry these down." He handed Steve the plates of pizza and grabbed the cups of water and scotch.

They arrived outside of the room that Loki was in and Tony turned to Steve. "Okay, you can't tell anyone and you can't freak out."

Steve seemed to think it over for a second before he nodded and followed Tony into the room. Bruce stood up the second he saw Steve. Loki made a gut-wrenching sound of fear and pulled his knees to his chest, hiding his face between them, and wrapping his arms around his knees.

"Loki, what's wrong?" Bruce sat on the bed beside Loki and put a hand on his shoulder.

"He'll tell them and they'll take me back. Back there. I can't go back. Please. Please don't make me go back," Loki looked up a Bruce, he was shaking and tears were streaming down his face.

"Loki he-" Tony began only to be interrupted by Steve.

"Loki, I won't tell anyone. I promise, I won't let that happen okay," Steve's voice was low and sounded sincere.

Loki put his head back between his knees and didn't move, his breathing quick and shallow.

A few minutes later, Tony cleared his throat. "Okay, well anyway, we brought your some food and water Reindeer Games." He set a cup of water and a plate of pizza on the tray beside the bed before handing Bruce his plate and cup and sitting back on the couch with his scotch. Steve sat beside him and Bruce stayed on the bed.

Loki slowly unfurled himself and cautiously grabbed the large glass of water. He stared down into it for a second before taking a small sip. He obviously felt as though it was safe to drink as he downed it in seconds. Bruce handed Loki his water, seeing that he needed it more than he did.

Loki gave him a small smile before looking suspiciously at the pizza. Tony saw the way he was looking at it and chuckled. "It's pizza Loki, you've never had any?

Loki shook his head. "Well, it's really good," Tony said biting into his second piece. Loki bit his lip and picked up a piece off of his plate. He glanced at everyone else nervously before taking a small bite. He also must have deemed the pizza safe because he ate it all within a minute or so.

Steve sighed and stood up. "Well, I'm going to head back up to my room, it's getting kind of late." Tony nodded and Steve picked up the empty plates and glasses, bringing them back to the kitchen on his way.

Tony yawned and grabbed some blankets from a cabinet in the corner of the room. "So, Bruce are you or I staying in here tonight?"

Bruce shrugged. "I'll stay, you head on upstairs."

Tony nodded. "Night then." He tossed the pillow and blanket to Bruce and soon left the room. Bruce tossed the pillow toward the end up the couch and laid the blanket on it. He then turned around and pulled the blankets down on Loki's bed for him and watched as he covered up.

"If you need anything Loki, be sure to wake me up, okay?"

Loki gave a small nod before turning the other way. Bruce turned off the lights before laying down on the couch and drifting off to sleep. Loki also drifted off to sleep, feeling warm and almost safe for the first time in a year.

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**I'll probably have Chapter 3 out soon too. Always looking forward to reviews and until next time my friends!**


	3. Old Scars

**You guys are probably thinking, 'You just typed three chapters in two days, you must not have a life.' Well, I do, but I was free this weekend. Chapter production will slow slightly during the week but it'll likely pick up on the weekends. Just giving you a fair warning.**

**Just because I said no pairing, didn't mean there wouldn't be some flirting. I mean we about are talking about a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and the God of Mischief.**

**I do not own any characters.**

**Enjoy!**

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A knock sounded on the door and Frigga looked up from the book she had been reading. "Come in," she said.

One of the servants opened her door and immediately bowed in respect before relaying his message. "Heimdall wishes to speak with you alone, my queen."

Frigga nodded. "Thank you. I shall be on my way now."

The servant bowed his head and left.

Frigga sat for a moment pondering what Heimdall would wish to see her for before heading outside to the stables. She saddled her horse, a beautiful white stallion with a golden mane and tail, and proceeded to where Heimdall stood, at the edge of the newly re-formed Bifrost. Thanks to the Tesseract, it had quickly been rebuilt.

She unmounted her horse a few feet from Heimdall. He bowed his head in respect. "My Queen," he said.

Frigga also bowed her head. "Good Heimdall. What is it you wished to speak with me about?"

Heimdall seemed to take a deep breath, his golden gaze resting on the queen. "It is about Loki."

Frigga gulped, expecting the worst but nodded her head as an order for him to continue.

"I won't go into detail about what was done to him but his punishment was far worse than he deserved. He is currently on Midgard and he is safe."

Frigga smiled. "Did you send him there Heimdall?"

Heimdall cracked a small smile. "Of course not my Queen, that would be against the All-Father's orders." But Frigga caught the slightest hint of sarcasm in his voice and laughed lightly.

"Would it be fine for me to visit him?"

"I would allow him a bit longer to rest my lady. He's still slightly traumatized but he is in the hands of people that can and are caring for him," Heimdall said.

Frigga nodded. "I will wait for a few more days before I see to him." She turned to leave, mounting her horse. "Thank you."

"My pleasure my lady," he said and watched as she galloped back to the palace.

* * *

Loki sat in his cell, his recently broken leg throbbing. The cold and darkness crept in on him and chilled him to the bone. He sobbed at the hopelessness of his situation. He would forever be alone. A worthless runt. He didn't deserve the family or friends he had betrayed.

At least, that was what Thanos had told him. In some part of him, hidden behind the walls, he felt that none of that was true but if that was true, if somebody cared about him, how had they allowed him to be dragged back here.

Loki was ripped from his thoughts as he heard footsteps trudging down the hall to his cell. His eyes widened in fear and his breathing quickened. His muzzle had been left off. After a few seconds a large Chitauri soldier walked into his cell and grabbed the chain connecting his wrists and hooked them to the wall. Loki whimpered as the Chitauri soldier drew a large knife from his belt. The blade was covered in a dark purple liquid that Loki knew well.

Before he could make any move to resist, the soldier drove the blade deep into his left arm, just below his wrist. Loki yelped in pain and the Chitauri laughed, twisting it before yanking it out and unhooking Loki's wrist before leaving the room. It took only a few second for the pain to register in his mind. His arm felting like it was being burned from the inside out and he whimpered, knowing the Chitauri were watching. Within seconds it reached his heart and when it did he let out a horrible scream as his body convulsed in agony.

"Loki?"

His brain was too clouded with pain for him to register anything other than the sound of his name.

"Loki!"

His whole body was burning now as the amount of pain doubled and he screamed again.

"Loki! Wake up!"

Loki gasped and shot into an upright position. He was trembling again and his throat was sore. He realised he was still on Midgard and he looked over to his right to see who had called his name.

Bruce stood beside him, looking really worried. "Hey Loki, you okay? I think you had a nightmare."

Loki leaned back against the pillows and nodded slightly.

"Want some water?"

Loki looked at Bruce again before nodding and taking the glass, taking a small sip from it. "Whenever I had nightmares," Loki looked at him, with confusion in his eyes. "Yes, I often had them, they've been gone for a while now though. Anyway, talking or writing about them always made me feel better."

Loki seemed to take that in for a moment before speaking in a low voice. "I've always had night terrors, even when I was a small child. They faded away when I got older but within the past few years or so they've come back worse than before." He shifted in his bed, sitting cross-legged on the bed. "They're not always the same but they...They all center around my torture." Loki said, staring down at the blankets. He felt a hand on his shoulder and smiled slightly at gesture.

After a few minutes of silence, Bruce stood up straight and stretched. "Well, it's morning time anyway so we might as well get on with the day." Loki nodded. "We'll start with checking your bandages and then I'll show you around the tower."

Bruce went about checking Loki's bandages. A few of them he had to change and the others already showed some progress in healing. "Well, at least the bleeding has slowed right? Mind if I ask how your wounds heal so fast?"

"My magic allows my wounds to heal faster than both mortals and most of the Aesir. Broken bones heal the fastest," Loki didn't know why but he felt as though he could trust Dr. Banner and he almost felt safe around him which was a ridiculous thought as he knew the seemingly shy man could turn into a large, green beast.

"Really?" Loki nodded and smiled at the sound of amazement in his voice.

"In fact..." Loki slowly pushed himself off the bed, testing his broken leg. It only felt sore but he was capable of walking on it and thankfully he still had on his black pants though his shirt was in pieces.

"Well, I guess we won't have to bother with the wheel chair after all," Bruce said. "Jarvis, who all is currently in the upper part of the tower?"

_"Only Mr. Rogers and Master Stark, sir," _Jarvis replied, causing Loki to flinch. Bruce noticed this and chuckled.

"Don't worry Loki, that's just the tower's AI. He monitors everything that goes on. Come on, we'll go up to the Family Floor."

Loki followed Bruce out of the door and into the elevator. It opened up on a large open floor. To the right was a hallway that had five doors, two on each side and one at the end. Directly infront of him was a pair of large beige couches and a recliner all facing a flat screen TV. The wall across from him consisted only of windows with a large balcony outside of them. To his left, through a doorway was a large dining area with a huge table and through another doorway there was a large kitchen with an island and a few stools. Sitting at one of the stools was Tony who appeared to be eating some form of food.

Bruce got a great idea as to how to cheer up Loki and looked at him and held his finger to his lips and snuck up behind Tony. He leaned down beside his head. "Tony!" He shouted and Tony jumped, dropping his food and spilling his coffee on his pants.

"Damn it Bruce! I expect this from Loki, not you!" He punched Bruce on his shoulder. "You even made me drop my omelet!" Loki burst out laughing causing them both to smile.

"Sorry," Bruce said, even though he was chuckling.

Tony sighed. "Well, make some more coffee while I change." He turned to Loki. "Come on with me, we'll get you some more clothes." Loki nodded and followed Tony back to the elevator. "So, feeling better?"

"Slightly," Loki said.

"That's good," Tony said and pushed the up button. "Anyway, you can borrow some of my clothes for now and we can go shopping for some clothes for you later." The elevator doors opened and the pair stepped out and walked down the hall to a door.

Tony opened it to reveal a large bedroom and he walked over to a large dresser and opened a few drawers, pulling out some clothes and handing them to Loki. He then pointed to a door on the opposite side of the room. "That's the bathroom, you can change in there."

Loki nodded and walked into the bathroom as Tony changed in his room. After a few seconds, he walked back out in a long-sleeved black shirt, a pair of long dark jeans, and his signature leather boots that had somehow remained intact. The pants were a few inches too short but the boots covered that so it wasn't obvious.

"Ooh," Tony looked Loki up and down. "You can actually keep those, they look good on you."

Loki snorted before following Tony back to the kitchen. Bruce stood by the coffee maker, pouring two cups of the dark liquid and Steve sat reading a newspaper on one of the stools.

"Hey Cap, anything interesting in the news?" Tony asked.

Steve shook his head. "Nothing unusual." He turned around and saw Loki. "Hey, you feeling better?"

Loki nodded slightly before quietly taking a seat at the other end of the island. At that moment, the elevator doors opened and Loki tensed up. Everyones' heads snapped around to find Pepper walking out of the elevator looking in a bag.

"Tony I have been trying to-", she lifted her head and her words died in her mouth. "Is...Tony, is that Loki?!"

Tony quickly walked over to her and brought her to another room to explain everything. They walked back in after about five minutes and Pepper walked over to Loki and stood beside him. Loki flinched back slightly but looked up at her.

"Well, I guess I'm going shopping for you since it would be rather unwise to let the public know you are being sheltered by the Avengers. What are some things you like?"

Loki thought for a second before quietly speaking. "I don't really care but I wear a lot of dark green, gold and black and I never wear shorts."

Pepper nodded. "Mmkay. That's pretty easy and since you are wearing Tony's clothes I'm guessing your around the same shirt and pants size so..." She trailed off. "Anyway, I'll be back later." She quickly turned and left the room.

"Well, that was easy," Steve commented. "I thought she'd be more...I dunno, freaked out of something.

Tony shook his head and pulled an apple out of the fruit bowl. "She took everything in stride once I explained why he was here and everything. " He tossed an apple at Loki, a green one. Loki took a bite of it and smiled. "See, I figured you would have liked it because it was green." Loki and Bruce chuckled. "Hey Loki, have you ever heard about Harry Potter?"

Loki shook his head and Steve looked up from his newspaper. "Who's Harry Potter?"

Bruce and Tony looked shocked for a second. "That's it, movie marathon now. Jarvis start the first one, Bruce popcorn?"

_"Done sir."_

Loki looked at Bruce. "Who?"

Bruce pulled out a bag of popcorn and put it in the microwave. "He's a fictional character that is a wizard and he goes on adventures but you have to watch it." Bruce poured the popcorn in a bowl and popped another bag before walking into the living room.

Bruce and Loki said on one couch and Tony and Steve sat on the other as the movie started. Pepper walked in a few hours later to find them on the third movie in the series and set her bags down before popping some more popcorn and sitting beside Tony.

Loki was curious as to what she had bought him but he was too involved in the movie at this point to care.

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**Thoughts? Reviews? Suggestions? I'm glad to hear them! 8D**


	4. Old Foes

**I do not own any characters.**

**Anyway, I feel really happy with this story so far and I'm glad I've already got these four chapters out.**

**Always looking for thought, suggestions and reviews!**

* * *

They spent the rest of the night watching a few of the Harry Potter movies and it was close to ten before they decided to finish the rest tomorrow. As soon as the movie finished, Loki launched into a one-sided conversation on how he didn't need a wand to use his magic and that the mortal views on magic were "preposterous" and "uninformed." Tony, Bruce, and Pepper listened and tried to keep straight faces but failed miserably. Loki stared at them for a moment before looking away.

Tony picked up the bags that Pepper had brought in. "Well, there isn't a dresser in the medical room but there is a guest bedroom on this floor if you'd like to stay there."

Loki seemed reluctant at first, glancing at Bruce.

"I'll stay across the hall if you'd like," Bruce added. Loki nodded slightly.

"Come on, it's down here," Tony said as he turned and walked down the hallway. Steve and Pepper left in the elevator so only Bruce and Loki followed him. Tony walked to the end of the hall and opened the second door on the left.

The wall opposite the door was all windows and on the right was another door which opened to the bathroom. In the center of the wall on the right was a large white bed and across from it was a large dresser. A TV was in the wall above the dresser and beside the bed was a large beige couch. Last but not least, was a desk just to his right that had a computer on it.

Tony set the bags on the bed and Loki crawled up beside them and started going through them. Pepper had bought many outfits for most any occasion.

"Well, I'll be in the room right across the hall if you need anything. Night," Bruce said before leaving.

"And if you forget where something or someone is, just ask Jarvis, he'll direct you. Night, Reindeer Games." Loki nodded to Tony before he too left the room.

Loki sat back on the bed a moment, glad to finally have some time alone so he wouldn't have to keep up the facade. He knew he was broken, emotionally and physically, but he refused to show them. He knew it was because he didn't want to see the pity and disappointment their eyes when all he had seen so far was worry and acceptance.

Loki sighed and pushed the thoughts out of his head, grabbing a pair of night clothes before walking into the bathroom to take a shower. He quickly got in, eager to wash the dirt, grime, and dried blood off of his healing wounds. Too soon though, he turned off the water, dried off, and climbed into the large bed before sleep overtook him.

* * *

Thunder boomed outside, causing Loki to jolt awake. He looked out the vast windows as the lightning flashed and the rain poured. He sat staring at the window for a moment before another boom of thunder sounded.

Loki scrambled off the bed and hid under the desk, pulling his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. He was shaking and he hated himself for it. He hated how scared he was and when he felt the sobs tearing through him he hated it even more.

What if Thor was here? He'd take him back for sure. Thor wouldn't even listen too him, wouldn't give him a moment to explain and Loki knew he stood no chance against him in this state.

As the minutes turned into hours and the thunder continued, Loki remained petrified.

Bruce yawned as he walked into the kitchen, heading straight to the coffee maker and pouring a cup of the dark liquid. Tony walked in a minute later, his hair still ruffled from sleep.

"Heya Bruce," Tony said before pouring himself a cup. "Where's Reindeer Games?"

"He's still in bed."

_"Actually sir, Mr. Laufeyson has been under his desk since 4:09 this morning,"_ Jarvis said.

"What?!" Bruce said. They turned and ran to Loki's room.

"Jarvis! You're supposed to tell us about this kind of stuff," Tony all but yelled at his AI.

Tony slowly pushed open Loki's door before kneeling down next to the desk and reaching under.

"No! Leave me alone!" Loki yelled, clawing at Tony's hand and shooting out from under the desk and into the bathroom.

Tony held his hand against him, seeing a bit of blood dripping from it before knocking slightly on the bathroom door. "Loki, it's just me and Bruce out here."

The bathroom door slowly opened, revealing a tear-stained Loki.

"What's wrong?" Bruce asked.

But Loki just stood there staring at the ground. "I-I thought Thor was coming," Loki whispered.

Tony furrowed his brow in confusion for a moment before remembering last night's thunderstorm. "Loki, Thor wasn't the one that harmed you, right?"

Loki shook his head slowly. "He-he just watched as they took me away, they wouldn't even let my speak," he mumbled slowly.

Tony looked at Bruce, seeing the look of shock and anger written on his face and he knew Thor wouldn't necessarily be welcomed when or if he came.

"Come on, " Bruce said before gently grabbing Loki's arms and pulling him into the living room and nodding towards the recliner. Bruce sat on the couch, Tony sat beside him, and then Steve walked in and silently sat on the other couch. "Loki, what exactly happened after Thor took you back to Asgard?"

Loki pulled his legs up closer to him before speaking. "The All-Father said I was to be punished for my crimes against Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim."

"Wait, wait, wait. What's Jotunheim?" Tony asked interrupting him.

"It's the realm of the Frost Giants. They were enemies of Asgard, right?" Bruce cut in.

Loki nodded before continuing. "The Frost Giants are monsters and I tried to destroy the realm."

"Why?" Steve spoke up for the first time.

"Because I didn't...I didn't want to be constantly reminded of what I was, " Loki's reply was barely audible.

Steve, Tony, and Bruce sat quietly for a moment, before Tony realized what he meant. Well, that took the meaning of the word 'adopted' to another level. Tony looked at Loki and remembered his words,_ "The Frost Giants are monsters." _Tony sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He could fix broken machines and objects but not broken people. Tony the looked at Bruce and Steve, seeing they had noticed the same thing. "Okay, back to the topic. What happened next?"

Loki kept his gaze on his lap, refusing to look up at them. "He said I would be sent back to he Chitauri and that they would choose my punishment. When the portal opened, Thor didn't do anything. He just watched as the Chitauri dragged me through." Loki had tears in his eyes but he quickly wiped them away.

Tony, Bruce, and Steve just sat for a minute, digesting everything for a few minutes before Tony walked into the kitchen. Soon, the sounds of popping popcorn came to Loki's ears and a few minutes later, Tony came back in carrying three bowls of popcorn.

Then the elevator doors opened and Pepper walked in, saw the popcorn, and sat down on the couch.

"So, are we finishing the Harry Potter movies?" She asked.

Tony nodded, stuffing his mouth full of popcorn, grabbing a small bottle of scotch and sitting next to Pepper. "Jarvis, play the next movie."

"Done sir," Jarvis said as the TV started and the fifth movie started.

...

It wasn't until the Deathly Hallows Part:1 that Tony heard Loki mumble something. He looked questioningly at him before brushing it off and turning his attention back to the movie.

A few seconds later, Tony heard something in the hallway and turned to see two glowing green eyes staring at him. He glanced at Loki before looking back at the hallway.

"Holy shit!" Tony yelled, jumping up on the couch. A huge black leopard was standing infront of him growling.

Bruce, Steve, and Pepper jumped back too but Loki just sat smiling. The leopard slowly turned and rubbed its head on Loki's hand before disappearing in a flash of bright white light.

" .That?" Steve asked, incredulous.

Loki gave a slight, mischievous grin. "When I said the mortal's views on magic were "preposterous" I didn't necessarily mean everything. The Aesir have something very similar to the "Patronus" charm."

Tony slowly sat back down. "And your charm's form is a black leopard?"

Loki laughed and nodded. "It's rather unique and only the more advanced sorcerers can conjure the charm."

Bruce laughed. "Unique, you got that right."

Loki smiled before turning his attention back to the movie.

It was late before the finished the second and last round of Harry Potter movies. Loki mumbled something about the movies being 'too short'. Tony chuckled.

"They were good though right?" Tony asked.

Loki gave a slight nod before yawning and walking to his bedroom. "Night you guys," he called out. He took a short shower and paused before putting his clothes on. His wounds had stopped bleeding the other day and there wouldn't have to be bandages as long as he wasn't too active. Even though his physical wounds were healing, he could feel the emotional ones slowly beginning to heal. Being here, around the team, he felt safe. But he had a feeling that something would tear that away from him far too soon. A shiver ripped through him as he thought of the possiblities but he quickly pushed the thought out of his head. That was the only thing that had allowed him to stay sane, to act like he was fine, the ability to push it all to the back of his mind.

Loki sighed and pulled on a pair of black silk pajamas and quietly slipped into bed before falling to sleep.

* * *

Loki woke to the sunshine shining on his face, rubbing his eyes. He got up and walked into the bathroom, taking a quick shower, fixing his hair, and then put on some clothes. Walking out of his room and into the kitchen, he kept his eyes cast down for no particular reason.

Yawning, he looked up for a second, expecting to see Bruce or Steve, but was greeted only by short red hair and the owner of said hair staring back at him.

Loki stood frozen in fear as Natasha grabbed a huge kitchen knife, the only weapon in her reach. His senses finally came back to him as he slowly backed away, his eyes wide with fear and his breathing just a bit too rapid.

"Hey Nat, do you think-," the voice stopped mid-sentence and Loki nearly crumbled in fright. He focused his eyes on Clint Barton who had just walked out of the living room. "What the HELL is he doing here?!"

* * *

**lol**

**So, I figured that if Loki were to cast a Patronus charm, it would take the form of a black leopard/panther.**

**Black leopards are sleek, exotic, majestic creatures and I would use the same adjectives to describe Loki. :3**

**Anyway, until next time! 8D**


	5. A Truce

**I do not own any characters.**

**Quick warning; there is a bit more cursing because Clint isn't necessarily happy that Loki is back.**

* * *

Frigga stood on the balcony, overlooking the golden realm of Asgard. She had always loved the view and would often sit on the balcony for long periods of time.

Today was no different in that context but it was in another.

As she was surveying the realm, the sudden whirring of the Bifrost brought her eyes to it. She furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment.

Nobody was to be leaving the realm anytime soon unless... Frigga gasped as she realized what was happening. She walked out of her chambers and entered the throne room where her husband was sitting. The queen quickly put on a calm face, hoping not to alert him of what she knew.

Odin smiled as he saw her approach. "Does something trouble you my queen?"

Frigga smiled. "No. I was simply wondering who had used the Bifrost. I didn't know anyone was planning on leaving the realm anytime soon."

"Oh, it was simply Thor going to visit his Midgardian friends," he replied.

Frigga nodded. "Of course." She turned and walked back down the hallway, toward one of the corridors that led outside. But Frigga had heard the slightest bit of tension in his voice and she knew why he had really gone to Midgard. She let out an irritated breath at how easily her husband had lied to her.

Frigga quickly entered the stables, saddling her horse before riding to the Bifrost. She bowed her head in respect when she reached Heimdall. "Good Heimdall, I wish to travel to Midgard to prevent Thor from doing anything rash."

Heimdall nodded and walked into the Bifrost before plunging his sword into it, causing it to whir to life again. "Be safe my queen."

Frigga smiled at him before the Bifrost pulled her through.

* * *

Loki was still frozen, his mouth open as he tried to form some kind of explanation. Natasha didn't wait though. She jumped forward, nearly driving the knife into his shoulder.

He jumped back only to have Clint punch him in his chest. The nearly broke his ribs again and knocked the breath out of him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Tony yelled. He pushed Clint back and jumped between Loki and Natasha. She lowered the knife slightly but otherwise kept her defensive stance. Bruce and Steve walked in, standing beside Tony.

"Are you in-fucking-sane?! What the hell is he doing here?!"

"if you'll stop yelling maybe I'll tell you!" Tony shouted back.

"Hell no! I'm calling Fury." Clint pulled out his cell phone and pushed the speed dial button before anyone could stop him. Tony jumped towards him, hoping to grab the phone before Fury answered.

"What Barton?" Loki heard the deep voice and fear overtook him, his shaking much more prominent.

"Loki's...here!" Barton shouted, loud enough for the director to hear even though Tony was still trying to grab the phone from him.

Before Loki knew what he was doing, he had shot out of the room, forgetting about his magic, and locked himself in his bedroom. He knew Fury would take him back, there was no denying it. Loki slid down the back of the door, tears welling up and spilling over his eyes as sobs racked through him. He tried pushing the memories back but knew it was of no help. He'd kept them down too long and they came back forcibly.

Every broken bone, every lash, every scream of agony came ripping through his head. Every lie, every promise broken, every betrayal washing over him. It seemed like hours later when the sound of a knock on his door finally reached him.

...

Tony didn't know how he was chosen to comfort Loki. The rest of the team should know that he wasn't good at this kind of stuff but they did realize he was about to attack Clint for telling Fury. It had taken nearly 15 minutes to discourage Fury from taking Loki away. He had finally agreed for Loki to stay as long as he remained in Stark Tower and was monitored anytime he left. Oh, and he wanted to question him, which would be fun for everyone.

Tony sighed and knocked lightly on the door. It opened to show Loki sitting on the floor beside the door.

"Hey Loki," Tony said, shutting the door and sitting beside him. They sat in an awkward silence for a moment, the only noise being Loki's shuddering breaths. "Look, I'm not good at all this emotional stuff. But I just-we just wanted you to know that even if Fury was coming for you that we would fight for you."

Loki looked up at him, his eyes tear-stained red.

"Yeah, he isn't coming to get you. He said you could stay but that he only wanted to question you a bit," Tony said.

Loki leaned into Tony's shoulder. The tears dripping off his chin and dampening Tony's shirt. Tony awkwardly wrapped his arm around Loki's shoulder and pulled him closer and laid his cheek on his head. They sat like that for a long while as Loki's tears dried before Loki pulled away.

"Come on, let's go back in there," Tony said, standing up and holding his hand out to Loki. He eyed it for a moment before taking it and allowing himself to be pulled up. They then walked into the living room where everyone was watching television. Clint and Natasha eyed him warily for a second then turned their attention back to the TV.

Loki was happy for this and he curled up on the recliner, pulling a small brown blanket over him. Pepper then walked in holding a bowl full of a thick looking white cream. She looked from Loki to Clint to Natasha before shrugging and walking back into the kitchen. She reappeared with another bowl in her hand as she perched on the arm of the recliner and held the bowl out Loki.

He furrowed his brow before taking it. "What is it?"

"It's ice-cream," she said. At the look of confusion on his face, she looked shocked. "Have you seriously never had ice-cream?"

Loki shook his head, stirring the spoon around.

"Well, try it. It's really good," she said leaning against the back of the recliner, causing it to tilt a bit.

Loki cautiously ate a bit before smiling. "It is good," he said. It was really sweet. Tony and Bruce laughed slightly.

"This is just vanilla but there are hundreds of different flavors."

Loki leaned back in his chair, eating the ice-cream. "Thanks," he mumbled.

Pepper smiled. "You're welcome."

Everyone just sat watching television, flipping from movies to documentaries, to comedies. For some reason, Loki had really enjoyed watching a show on cats and Tony stored the thought away in his brain as a future reference just incase the god may end up staying with them.

It was around three o'clock when Jarvis' slightly accented voice broke all of the peace and silence that had lasted since this morning.

_"Sir, Mr. Odinson will be arriving here within three minutes."_

Everyone froze, turning to look at Loki as they realized that this wasn't going to go well.

* * *

**Sorry for the cliffie again you guys. :P**

**But next chapter shall be good.**

**Reviews? Comments? Suggestions? Feel free! 8D**


	6. A Reunion

**Mmkay, chapter 6. I hope it lives up to your expectations. 8D**

**Possible trigger warnings.**

* * *

Loki sat petrified.

Thor was coming, coming to take him back but Loki'd be damned if he let that happen.

Looking at the others for a moment, he calmly stood up. The team looked weary and Tony also stood up, holding his hands up. "Come on Reindeer Games, let's not do anything rash."

But Loki either didn't hear him or didn't care. He took off sprinting down the hallway, towards the staircase. "Get him!" He heard Bruce shout and footsteps echoed behind him. He shot up the stairs, taking two at a time. He didn't know where he was going nor did he care. All he knew was that he had to get away from there, anywhere other than there. There was one place he could go. One place he could get away from all of this.

Loki threw open the door he had arrived at, running onto the roof. He had taken no more than a few steps when two arms wrapped around his waist.

"No!" Loki screamed. He kicked and punched at the man holding him back.

"Hey! Loki! It's just me!" Tony shouted. He had to use all of his strength to turn Loki around, holding onto his wrists to keep him from hitting him. Loki's breathing and heart pace were rapid and unshed tears gathered in his eyes. "It's okay, it's okay. Come on, we need to go back inside." Tony started walking backwards toward where the team stood in the doorway. Loki hesitated for a moment, looking out at the roof before following Tony.

This time, they took the elevator down to the Family Floor. Tony put on a bracelet and told Jarvis to ready his suit, Natasha had a hand on her gun, Clint just stood by her, Steve held his shield on his arm, and Bruce stood a bit off from the rest. Pepper, who had walked in, sat on the couch beside Loki. The rest of the team stood in a semi-circle around them. Only a second or so later, thunder boomed and lightning flashed, bringing along with it a torrent of rain from the once clear sky.

Loki flinched with each crack of thunder and when a loud crash sounded and a flash of scarlet appeared on the balcony, Loki whimpered, shrinking into the couch. Pepper patted his leg.

"My friends!" Thor said in his overly loud voice, pushing the door open. He was greeted by harsh faces and silence. Thor furrowed his brow. "What troubles you?"

The team looked at one another. Tony stepped forward, opening his mouth to say something when a golden flash of light caught his attention. A tall woman with blonde hair and blue eyes walked in. Thor turned to look at her in confusion.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"Stopping you from doing something you'll regret," she said, turning to the team. "I am Frigga, Loki's and Thor's mother and I wish to see him."

"Loki is here?" Thor asked, lifting Mjolnir a bit.

Frigga turned to him. "You will not touch him nor bring him back to Asgard, yes?"

"But, it is Father's orders. I have to."

Tony laughed harshly. "If you think we're going to let you take him back than you're insane."

"Where is he?" Frigga asked quietly.

Tony looked at the team before nodding slightly and they stepped to the side, revealing Loki on the couch in his black T-shirt and jeans. He flinched back and his eyes widened in fear.

"Loki..."Frigga slowly walked forward and slowly sat down beside him. He flinched away slightly but otherwise kept his position. "My poor Loki." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him close, running her fingers through his hair. Loki looked up at her face, tears pouring down his cheeks. He relaxed into her embrace, laying his head on her shoulder.

"Loki," Thor said as softly as he could manage. He walked forward slowly. Loki whimpered and flinched back violently. Thor sighed and knelt down infront of him, laying a hand on his shoulder despite Loki's obvious fear of it. "Brother, please forgive me. Father thought he was just giving you what you deserved. I didn't know-"

Loki tensed at sat up, his voice coming out in a snarl. "You didn't know what?! That every day I prayed for anything to end what I was going through," He raised his voice and stood up, as did Thor." That every day they tortured and-and raped me? Trying to break me and take over my mind again? Did I deserve that? Am I honestly that much of a monster?!" Tears poured down his face and his breathing was harsh and ragged.

Everyone stood open-mouthed at his revelation. Thor and Frigga looked as though they had tears in their eyes.

Thor sounded sincere, desperate even. "I'm sorry. I didn't know..."

"Of course you didn't know! You wouldn't allow me to speak!" Loki shouted. He turned and started to leave the room.

"Brother..."

Loki stopped in the hallway and turned his head slightly. "I'm not your brother." He said before locking himself in his room.

The silence crept on for what seemed like hours until Clint spoke. "What do you think he meant by 'again'?"

Steve furrowed his brow and looked at Clint, sudden realization dawning in his eyes. "Clint, what color were Loki's eyes whenever you first met him?"

Clint paused for a moment. "They were blue."

Tony sucked in a breath. "Do you mean to tell me that Loki went through all of that for something he had no control over?"

"He was being controlled too," Clint said.

"Maybe, but there are so few that would be able to get into Loki's mind," Frigga said.

Bruce looked at her. "Could it be that Thanos guy?"

Frigga's gaze shot up to meet his. "Where did you hear that name?"

"Loki said that was who tortured him," Tony said. "Why? Who is it?"

"Thanos is...He's an ancient threat to the Aesir. He was defeated thousands of years ago but he wasn't killed, only banished. He is highly powerful and, for lack of a better word, evil," Frigga said. She stood up. "I will go see how Loki is faring." She headed off to Loki's room.

Tony turned to Thor. "I want to know exactly what happened that day."

Thor sighed. "He was brought before the All-Father who said that he would be sent to the Chitauri and they would choose his punishment. He sat kneeling on the floor and when the Chitauri general walked through...He was really scared and he looked up at me, pleading but I wouldn't hear of it. I thought he would simply make more lies and so I watched as he was dragged through."

"I thought the All-Father was supposed to be smart. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what they would do to Loki," Natasha said.

"The All-Father charged them to be just in their punishment," Thor said.

Steve raised his eyebrows. "And you trusted them with that?"

Thor looked down at his hands. "No, I didn't. I tried to get Father to change the punishment, as did Mother but he wouldn't hear of it."

Tony sighed and walked into the kitchen, returning with a bottle of scotch that he started drinking. "I'm too sober for this shit."

Frigga knocked gently on Loki's door. "Loki, please let me in," she said quietly. After a moment she knocked again but to no avail. She sighed and turned to leave only to hear the door click and slowly open.

She smiled slightly and walked in, closing the door behind her. Loki sat on the bed, his back to her. Frigga walked over and sat beside him on the bed.

"How have you been faring here with the mortals Loki?"

He hesitated for a moment. "Good."

Frigga smiled a bit. "Loki, you need not hide your thoughts from me. I know something troubles you and I wouldn't think you weak if you asked for help once in a while."

Loki swallowed and looked down at his lap, tears gathering in his eyes. He looked at his mother but he couldn't find any reason to hate her. He only saw her as she was, sweet, caring, and loving and she didn't care who or what he was.

"You look far too tired my son," Frigga said, looking him over.

Loki shook his head. "I'm fine."

Frigga laughed gently. "Always so stubborn, get some sleep." She got up and turned to leave the room. "I love you Loki."

Loki pulled the blankets down on his bed before looking at her. "Love you too Mother."

* * *

Thanos sat, looking out into the blackness of space. The noise of footsteps sounded behind him and he turned in his throne to see a Chitauri soldier walking up to him.

The Chitauri bowed low before looking up. "We have found the Jotun sir."

Thanos grinned malelovently. So they had found his pet after all? "Where is he?"

"He currently resides with the mortals on Midgard. Shall we send scouts to retrieve him?"

Thanos paused for a moment. "No, we shall allow him to believe he is safe, wanted."

"Of course sir," the soldier said before leaving the room.

Thanos sat on his throne, grinning at the possibilties of what he would do to the Jotun runt once he returned.

* * *

**Sorry, I took a bit longer getting this chapter out, I had a hard time writing it for some reason. XD**


	7. New Facts

**Thank you everyone for all of your reviews! They have been very helpful. 8D**

**Sorry for the somewhat late update, had a very busy week. Here's chapter seven though and I'm rather happy with it. 8D**

**I own nobody.**

* * *

Loki didn't wake until early the next morning. He took a shower as he usually did and was glad to see that his wounds had become only scars and a few bruises. They'd heal by tomorrow thankfully.

He was about to walk out when something caught his eye. He turned back to look at the blank wall beside the sink. It seemed to be shifting. Loki frowned, taking a small step before jumping back violently as an image appeared on the wall.

The image of Thanos laughed. "There you are my pet. We've been looking everywhere for you," He said sweetly. It sent chills down Loki's spine as he back into the opposite wall. "What? Are you not happy to see me?" Thanos grinned sadistically.

"I-I-" Loki stuttered.

"Silence! Do not_ dare _speak, you worthless runt! No one wants to hear your lies," Thanos growled.

Loki slid down the wall, sitting on the floor, his eyes fixed on the image before him.

"You do not honestly believe that the mortals care for what you have to say, do you? Do you actually believe that they care for you? That you're wanted? You're more pathetic than I thought," He snarled.

Loki felt the tears welling in his eyes but he pushed the feeling down. He wouldn't shed more unneeded tears. He wasn't _that _weak, _that _pathetic.

Thanos chuckled. "Goodbye for now, my pet."

Loki sat in silence, his only movement was pulling his legs up and placing his head on his knees and his constant shaking.

Thor sat on the kitchen couch, watching the TV. It was around ten and nothing of interest was on television. He sighed and stood up, going to walk outside when Tony walked in looked slightly concerned. "Jarvis how is Loki?"

"_Mr. Laufeyson appears to be rather panicked. The source of which I cannot detect," _the AI replied.

"Shit," Tony said, setting his coffee down. Thor quickly turned around, pushing Tony out of his way slightly and going to the room he knew was Loki's. He pushed open the bedroom door and looked around. "Loki?" He heard a slight shuffling noise come from the bathroom.

Thor motioned to Tony to stay put and slowly opened the bathroom door. He stepped in and closed it behind him. He saw Loki curled up on the floor shaking. Thor sat down quietly beside him and reached to put a hand on his shoulder. Loki flinched away, putting a few more inches between him and Thor.

"Loki, what's wrong?" Thor asked.

Loki only shook his head a bit, not looking up at Thor.

Thor sighed and sat there, leaning his head back against the wall. "Loki, whatever it is, you know you can tell me, right? I just want to help you, there is no reason that you must suffer alone. "

There wasn't a reply.

Thor chuckled. "You are so stubborn."

At that, Loki unfurled slightly. "You're not one to talk," He said quietly.

Thor rolled his eyes, something he did only rarely. "Maybe not. Come on," He said and stood up. Loki paused for a moment before standing up too, glancing nervously at the wall. Thor furrowed his brow and looked at the wall before shrugging and walking out of the bathroom.

...

Tony and Frigga stood outside, Frigga looking a bit concerned. "Is everything alright?" She asked. Loki gave a short nod, keeping his eyes on the ground. Frigga sighed. "You are so stubborn." Loki's lips twitched. "Now, tell me, what is wrong?"

Loki sighed, knowing he couldn't deny his mother. "An image appeared on the wall of - of Thanos, " He said quietly. Tony and Thor looked shocked and Frigga put her hand over her mouth.

"Oh Loki," She pulled him into a hug, even though he flinched slightly.

Loki stilled for a moment before hugging her back. A thought suddenly dawning on him. "When are you leaving?"

Frigga sighed and pulled away, looking up at Loki. "As soon as possible, likely today. I must sort things out with Odin. Even he, with all of his strength and wisdom can make mistakes and this is one he will regret."

Loki stayed silent. He highly doubted that. Odin was probably glad he was gone.

Steve walked through the door then, looking at Tony. "Fury's here," he said. Loki tensed. Great, Fury was here. This would be fun.

Thor noticed how Loki had tensed and looked at him. "Don't worry. I won't allow him to harm you."

Loki looked at Thor and saw the sincerity in his eyes and he hardly believed it. Why would Thor still be so protective of him? Loki had tried to kill him, a few times now, and yet Thor acted as though he didn't care, as though he only wanted to protect his younger brother...And it unnerved.

Loki nodded slightly and followed the others out of the room. Fury was standing in the living room with the rest of the team. Fury eyed him suspiciously.

"Hey Nicky, how's it going?" Tony asked sweetly.

"Screw you Stark," He snarled.

"Love you too," Tony replied. Loki barely held back his laugh, getting him a smile from Tony and a glare for Fury.

"So Fury, what all did you want to know?" Tony asked more seriously, sitting on the couch.

Fury rolled his eyes, well eye. "First off, how did you get here?" He asked, looking at Loki.

Loki shrugged slightly and answered honestly. "I truly don't know."

Fury raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something before Frigga cut in. "Our gatekeeper transported him here."

Fury accepted this as a good answer but looked to Frigga. "And who the hell are you?"

Loki growled at him and Thor actually grabbed his collar. "That is our mother, and you will speak to her with nothing other than respect. Yes?"

Fury nodded and Thor let go and took a step back, straightening his jacket. "Where did you come from?"

Loki flinched, thinking of the barren wasteland he had been on. "A distant planet, inhabited by the Chitauri."

"And why were you there?"

Loki swallowed. "It was to be my punishment."

"A year? That was your punishment?"

Loki bit his lip to keep from replying with a smart-ass comment. He opened his mouth to say something but Tony cut him off. "You honestly want to know? Jarvis, pull up the files from when Loki was in the medical wing."

"_Done sir_," the AI said and the large TV switched on and showed the medical room.

Loki quickly looked away and when he heard the audio turn on, he shook his head and walked out onto the balcony.

...

The team that hadn't been with Loki originally watched the videos, looks of shock, disgust, and sadness showing on their faces. Most of them looked green as if they'd be sick and Frigga had tears in her eyes.

"My poor Loki," She mumbled. Thor watched, horrified by the injuries his brother had, not just the physical ones but the mental ones as well. He wanted to look away but he couldn't, his eyes were glued to the screen as he saw every gash and bruise on Loki's body.

When the videos were over the team stood in silence. Of course, Tony was the one to break the silence.

"Does that answer your question?"

Fury nodded once and looked at Tony. "I still have a few things I want to discuss but it won't take long."

Thor looked around for Loki, noticing he was gone before he saw him standing on the balcony, looking out over the city.

"You okay Loki?" Thor asked cautiously.

Loki nodded, keeping his gaze on the city before him.

Thor laid a hand on his shoulder. Loki looked at it but surprisingly didn't pull away. That alone put a smile on Thor's face, maybe there was hope for their family after all. "Come on, Fury wanted to ask you a few more questions before he left."

Loki hesitated for a moment before walking back in with Thor.

Fury continued. "You know that you can't leave Stark Tower without someone with you, right?"

Loki nodded.

"And nothing even remotely criminal while you're here?"

Loki nodded again.

Fury sighed. "Well, you can stay for now."

"I still don't forgive you about Coulson though," Clint muttered.

Loki furrowed his brow and looked at him. "What do you mean?"

The team looked at him in shock. "Are you kidding me? You fucking killed him for god's sake!" Clint said.

Loki shook his head. "That wound wouldn't have killed him. It would only have hurt his shoulder and maybe nicked a lung."

Tony looked at Fury for an answer but saw he was retreating to the door. "Oh hell no. Jarvis, doors."

Thor heard the doors clicked in place as they locked, blocking off Fury's escape.

"We want answers Fury," Steve said in an authoritative voice.

Fury sighed and rubbed his face before picking up his cellphone. "Agent Hill, send Coulson up." He snapped the phone closed as the team stared at him in shock.

A moment later, the elevator opened, showing Phil Coulson standing there. He smiled at the team before noticing Loki, his smile turning into a frown. There was an awkward silence for a moment.

"Fury, answers. Now." Tony said.

"Coulson was healed after the wound and I didn't allow him to be in contact with any of your team. I felt it better that you believed he had died."

Coulson walked to stand beside Fury, with obvious distaste in his eyes.

Tony glared at Fury before turning to Coulson. "Whatever you're getting paid now, I'll double it and you can move into the tower with us."

"You can't just take away one of my right hand men Tony!" Fury snarled.

"Actually, it sounds like a good offer," Phil said, raising an eyebrow and looking at Fury.

Fury growled and turned to walk out. "Have you things out of the Helicarrier before three."

Phil nodded and watched as he walked out. He smiled afterward. "Well, that went nicely."

* * *

**Wooh! Coulson! XD**

**Anyway, thoughts? Suggestions? Reviews? **


	8. New Developments

**Sorry for the somewhat late post everyone. I had a really busy few days. XD**

**Anyway, chapter 8!**

**I do not own anyone...Unfortunately.**

* * *

Coulson had followed Fury out, going to the Helicarrier to get his things. When he came back with a few boxes, Tony had directed him to a lower level that had an open office area. After that, they came back up to the Family Floor where everyone was watching a movie.

Loki turned to see Coulson and Tony walking out of the elevator. Coulson walked over to where he sat on the recliner and held out his hand. "I don't think we've been formally introduced. I'm Phil Coulson but you can just call me Phil."

Loki nodded and tentatively shook his hand. "I'm Loki."

Phil chuckled. "Yeah, I kinda guessed that. So, how do you like Ear-Midgard so far?"

Loki nearly wiggled under the watch of everyone in the room. "It's fine, better than some places I've been."

Phil nodded. There was an awkward silence for a moment before he and Tony walked into the kitchen.

Frigga sighed and stood up. "I should probably be going myself, I have many things I need to 'sort out' on Asgard."

"When will you be back?" Loki asked, also standing up and walking to be beside her.

She pulled him into a hug. "I do not know my son. It may be a while though."

Loki nodded and watched as Thor also hugged her. "Take care of him," she said to Thor which only earned a snort from Loki.

"Goodbye Mother," Thor said.

Frigga smiled. "Farewell, I will return once everything is fixed."

Loki nodded and only watched as she stepped out onto the balcony. She smiled at them one last time before disappearing in a flash of golden light.

Thor sighed and plopped down on the couch.

"Well, I'm going down to the training room, " Clint said.

"Me too," Natasha got up to follow him out.

"Wait, just a second," Tony said walking into the room. He had that 'I've got a great idea' look on his face which couldn't be good. "Maybe it'd be good for Reindeer Games to let out some steam in the training area."

"Yeah, sounds cool. Want to Loki?" Steve said, looking at him.

"I don't know..."

"Oh come on, if it's too much we won't mess with you again," Steve said.

Loki bit his lip before nodding once and standing up. "Okay, I'll try it.

Steve smiled. "Mmkay, come on." Loki followed Steve and got into the elevator with Clint and Natasha. He was about to close the doors when everyone else except Bruce piled in, effectively pushing him into the corner. Tony was the last to get in, his back to the door.

"Come on Bruce, why don't you come down?" Tony said.

Bruce rolled his eyes and picked up a book. "I'm good."

Tony shut the door.

Tony smiled. "Group hug!" He said and hugged Thor who was closest to him. Thor, of course, hugged him back before trying to pull Loki into the hug. Loki tried to push him away but Thor held him. Soon enough, they were all squished in a hug, forced mostly, by Thor and Tony. When the door finally opened, Clint pushed Tony out.

"Never. Again." Clint said.

Tony laughed. "I kind of liked it."

Loki rolled his eyes and looked around the room. One wall was covered in various weapons, everything from knifes to some small guns. The wall opposite of that was filled with targets. There was also some punching bags and padding covering the floor and walls on the opposite side of the room.

"So, what kind of weapons do you like to use?" Steve asked, leaning against one of the walls.

Loki looked at the knifes. "I usually use my magic but I also use throwing knifes and staffs."

"Well try hitting the target with one," Tony said, nodding toward one of the targets. Loki took one of the smaller knifes off the wall and fingered the blade. He quickly drew his arm back and flung the knife at the target. It hit it dead-center.

"Damn, you could give Clint a run for his money," Tony said. Loki chuckled and pulled the knife out.

Clint and Natasha walked over to the padded area and started sparring. Loki watched them for a moment.

Steve noticed his interest. "Did you want to try sparring?"

Loki kept his eyes on the two assassins. He bit his lip. "I don't know."

"It'll be fine. I'll do it with you," Steve said, patting his shoulder.

Loki sighed. "Okay."

He walked with Steve over to the padded area, looking back to where the team stood he realized they were all watching him intently. "Okay, so don't be afraid to hit me, just nothing life threatening and I'd prefer if you didn't hit me in the face." Steve chuckled.

Loki nodded and watched Steve cautiously, obviously waiting for him to make the first move. Steve lunged at him but Loki stepped to the side, easily avoiding him. Loki chuckled. Steve turned around and threw a punch at his shoulder but Loki actually caught his hand and punched him back, knocking the breath out of Steve. It went on like that for a bit, Steve trying to hit Loki who mostly dodged him. Steve only landed a punch a few times. After a few minutes though, Loki got kind of bored and decided to end it. He grabbed Steve's left hand and then knocked his feet out from under him. Steve landed on his back and Loki placed a knee on his chest and held his hands down. Steve laughed.

"Okay, you win this round."

Loki smiled and got up, holding his hand out to Steve. Steve grabbed his hand and gave a grin before roughly pulling Loki down beside him. Loki laughed and lay there for a minute before pushing himself up, though he didn't offer his hand to Steve this time.

"That was...fun," Loki said. Steve nodded and walked with him back to where the team had sat against the wall.

"I never really pegged you as a hand-to-hand combat kind of guy Reindeer Games," Tony said.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Well, I don't exactly have a metal suit to hide behind."

Tony walked over to the mats. "Bring it on."

It took Loki all of six seconds to pin Tony to the ground. Tony quickly pushed Loki off and stood up, brushing some invisible dirt from his clothes.

"I wasn't ready!"

"Of course you weren't," Loki said.

* * *

Frigga soon found herself standing in the Bifrost, looking out at the golden beauty of Asgard.

"My Queen."

Frigga looked to see Heimdall. "Hello Heimdall." Frigga quickly started off for the palace, the images of Loki's injuries flashing through her head and feeding her anger. By the time she got to the palace, she was livid. She walked toward the garden where she knew he'd be since he wasn't in the throne room.

She finally found him sitting on one of the stone benches. Frigga stood quietly for a moment, forcing herself to be calm for at least a moment. She then walked up behind the AllFather and laid a hand on his shoulder causing him to look up at her.

"My queen," He said, laying a hand over hers. "Where have you been?"

She sat down beside him. "Seeing our son on Midgard."

Odin seemed to tense slightly. "And how does Thor fare?"

"Oh, I wasn't talking about Thor," Frigga said.

Odin sighed. "My queen-"

And her temper broke as he tried to talk sweetly to her. "No! I do not want to hear your lies! How could you send Loki to those monsters? I can't believe you! What, did you honestly think they'd welcome him back with open arms? He didn't deserve any of what happened to him there!"

"Frigga, he was only getting what he deserved!" Odin's voice rose to match her's in volume. "He had to pay for his crimes against Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim!"

"But he didn't deserve that! They tortured him day after day! He wasn't even in control of himself when he was on Midgard before! Thanos was controlling him!"

"And I am aware of that! Sending him back was the only way to keep the realms safe! Thanos was to wage war if Loki wasn't returned to him and Jotunheim wanted punishment for the death of their king!"

Frigga stared open-mouthed at her husband. "So you mean to tell me that you used him as a pawn? Do you realize what that information would do to him?! He already believe he was nothing more than a pawn to you!"

"Frigga please," Odin started.

"No, I am going to think, do not mess with me." Odin gave a sad nod as Frigga turned and walked back into the palace.

Sif stood in the hallway, hidden from the royal couple, anger and shock written on her face. "Time to pay the little traitor a visit," she said quietly before going to find the Warriors Three.

* * *

**So, the Warriors Three and Sif, **

**Reviews? Thoughts? Suggestions? 8D**


	9. Nothing New

**Sorry guys. XD**

**Suffering from slight writer's block. I felt like I needed to get out Chapter 9 though so here it is.**

**I don't own anyone.**

* * *

Loki walked with the rest of the team back to the Family Floor after spending an hour or so on the Rec. Floor. They had mainly messed with the large amount of weapons and had only sparred a bit more. It was actually rather fun though Loki wouldn't admit it.

Steve walked out of the kitchen to where most of the team sat, strewn about on the couches and floor. "So...What do you guys want for lunch?"

"Well, I dunno Mom. Maybe you should just give us some Cheerios. Oh, and don't forget my juice box," Tony said sarcastically.

"Quiet Tony," Steve snapped.

Tony chuckled but otherwise kept his mouth shut. Steve rolled his eyes and looked to everyone else, only to have them shrug in response.

"Fine, I'll figure something out," He said, walking back into the kitchen.

Loki stood awkwardly by one of the chairs, unsure fo what he wanted to do. He looked around and took an interest in the book that Bruce was reading. He squinted his eyes, trying to read the cover and failed to notice that Bruce was watching him.

"Do you like to read Loki?" Bruce asked, startling him slightly.

Loki gave a sheepish smile. "Yes."

Bruce smiled and stood up, walking to the elevator. "Come on, let me show you something."

Loki nodded and followed him into the elevator, remaining silent as they went down a few floors. Soon, the doors opened to reveal an office-like floor, complete with a large desk and some chairs. Bruce turned and walked down one of the hallways on the right, stopping at the first door.

"This is the library," Bruce said, swinging the door open. The walls were covered in ceiling-high shelves full of books. Loki couldn't keep from smiling at the sight. "There is pretty much every genre you can think of, from fantasy to philosophy. They're separated first by genre and then by author. If you need anything, I'll be over there." Bruce nodded towards some leather couches before settling down in one of them.

Loki turned and started scanning the shelf nearest to him. One book caught his attention. _Chicken Soup for the Soul; Loving Or Cats_. Loki pulled out the book and flipped to a random page, meaning just to skim over it but he became engrossed in the moving story. These cats seemed like smaller versions of the large felines he had seen on television the other day. Loki tucked the book under his arm and walked over to the non-fiction section. He quickly found a book about cats and took it to a seat near Bruce. They sat for a while, Loki intently reading the pages in his books.

"You like cats?" Bruce asked after the long silence.

Loki looked up from the book, and nodded a bit. "They seem...cute."

Bruce smiled. "Yeah, they can be. A lot of people keep them as pets."

Loki nodded and his gaze went back to the book. "It'd be cool to have one." He said quietly. Bruce made no reply but carefully filed that information away for another time.

"Sirs, Mr. Rogers has prepared lunch and wishes for you to join them," Jarvis said a few minutes later.

"Okay, we'll be right there," Bruce said, placing a bookmark in his book. Loki tucked the books under his arm and followed Bruce back up to the Family Floor. "You might want to set those in your room," Bruce said, looking at the books.

"Okay," Loki said, walking down the hall. He had just shut the door when he heard a loud bang back in the living room. He quickly set the books on the bed before turning to open the door. He paused however, when he heard Thor's voice.

"My friends! What brings you to Midgard?"

Loki slowly pulled the door open, hoping to catch the conversation.

"Thor," Loki could hear Sif's voice from his doorway and she seemed really agitated. "What do you think you are doing?! Keeping that traitor here."

Loki caught a glimpse of Thor, who looked rather angry. "Don't insult him like that!" He growled.

He could hear the distaste in Sif's voice. "He's gone and put some charm on you hasn't he?! Do you honestly believe him to be innocent, so worthy of your time?"

"Of course I do," Thor said, his already loud voice rising, " and I won't stand by and listen to you carry on!" Loki edged out of the door, making his way down the dark hallway. Loki saw Sif and the Warriors Three standing there, opposite was Thor and the team. The Warriors seemed to be nervous almost, glancing between Sif and Thor.

"Thor he-"

"Okay Sif, we get it you despise me. Anything else?" Loki said harshly, stepping out of the hallway, moving to stand beside Thor.

Sif turned to glare at Loki. "Yeah, I thought I'd let you know what your "father" actually thinks of you."

"Sif." Thor growled.

Volstagg furrowed his brow in confusion and Fandral looked to him to see if he knew what was going on. They obviously knew nothing about this part. Hogun put a hand on Sif's shoulder. "Sif..."

She shrugged his hand off. "He only ever wanted to use you as a pawn you runt." Loki clenched his jaw. He willed the tears not to come and barely kept them at bay. He was nothing more than a pawn to the father he had so wanted to impress all those years ago.

"Get out!" Thor shouted, pointing to the elevator.

Sif wordlessly turned and walked out, the Warriors Three looked apologetically at Thor before silently following Sif.

Thor turned to Loki. "Loki, he never-"

"Save it Thor," Loki snarled, turning on his heel and shutting himself in his room. He almost immediately heard Thor knocking on his door.

"Loki, please. Sif was just trying to make you mad. Father would never." He said.

Loki remained silent, curling up on the bed and lay staring at the ceiling.

* * *

It was two days later and Bruce was starting to get concerned. Loki hadn't eaten, left his room, or so much as spoke since the other Asgardians had left. he sighed and set down his book, turning to Thor who sat quietly on the couch.

"How long do these usually last?"

Thor shrugged. "The longest time he did this lasted two weeks."

Bruce ran a hand through his hair. Before Sif had come, Loki had been totally happy. Reading his books about...Bruce's thoughts trailed off as a small smile formed on his lips. Tony, of course, noticed the smile.

"Got an idea Brucey?" Tony asked.

"Well, I have one but I need to know something first," Bruce said.

"And that would be?"

"What's your tower's policy on pets?"

* * *

As soon as Sif and the Warriors Three were out of the tower, she called for Heimdall. The gatekeeper had opened the Bifrost and the four now stood there, looking out over Asgard. Heimdall remained silent, pulling his sword from the stand and watching as the four walked across the rainbow bridge back to the city.

When they got inside the city walls, they broke apart all going their separate ways. The tense silence remained though and Sif brushed off just the smallest feeling of guilt that she had. She couldn't really be feeling guilt. Loki had deserved whatever had happened to him.

Sif sighed and rubbed her temples. Shaking her head, trying to get rid of the ache that had formed once she had left Asgard. Thankfully, her headache dulled after a while and she carried on with her usual routine.

* * *

Thanos sat on his throne, sharpening his sword. Nothing ever happened on this barren wasteland so he took to messing with the Asgardian warrior's mind. It was far to easy to move in and influence everything they did, especially if the things they did harmed he ones he would get revenge on...

* * *

**Wooh! Chapter 9! 8D**

**What's gonna happen next? Well, some of you probably have an idea. :3**


	10. Nox

**Chapter 10 anyone? **

**I do not own any characters. ;_;**

* * *

It took Bruce a good 30 minutes to convince Tony to let him get Loki a cat. So, two hours later, they stood in the feline wing of the closest animal shelter. The car was already packed with everything a cat could possibly need; food, litter, litterbox, toys, brushes, etc. One of the staff had been surprised to see Tony Stark walking into the shelter but quickly shrugged it off and had brought them to the feline wing.

"Well, here we are," She said with a smile. "We have many cats and kittens but I'll leave you to pick and choose."

Bruce nodded to her and started looking through the cages with Tony on the opposite side.

"Hey Bruce, comere," Tony said a few minutes later, motioning him over. When Bruce was beside him, Tony pointed to the cage just in front of them. "Look at this one."

Inside the cage was a small figure wrapped up in a blanket. It seemed to hear them outside its cage and its head popped up. The kitten was small and had long black fur and beautiful golden eyes.

"That is one of our newer arrivals. She's around 11 weeks old," The attentdant said. "She was already adopted out once but her owners said that she didn't fit well with their other pets and they brought her back. She's rather mean so that was probably the problem."

Tony chuckled. "Sounds like she'd be a good fit."

Bruce smiled and looked at the attendant. "We'll take her."

Bruce carried the pet carrier into the living room, Tony trailing behind him carrying the bags full of cat items. The little kitten was mewing the whole time, obviously not content with being quiet. Bruce sat down on the couch with the carrier.

"What is that noise?" Thor asked, looking into the carrier.

"It's a kitten," Natasha said.

"Why did you get a cat again?" Phil asked. He was also sitting with the rest of the team. He had mostly stayed on his floor whenever Loki was out. They both had felt uncomfortable around each other but Phil was willing to make amends.

Bruce shrugged. "Loki really seemed to like them and they are good pets.

"What's a cat?" Thor asked.

"It's an animal, a feline." Steve replied.

Bruce chuckled walked down the hall to Loki's room, Steve, Thor, and Tony following him.

Bruce knocked on the door."Loki, would you come out for a bit?" There wasn't an answer.

"Come on Loki, we got something for you," Tony said. Loki still didn't answer. Tony sighed and rolled his eyes. "We got you a cat but if you don't want it-" The soft click of the lock cut him off and Loki slowly opened the door.

"What?" He asked, his face indifferent but his eyes glowed with happiness.

"They got you a cat," Steve said. "It's in the living room."

Loki smiled and pushed past them walking into the living room.

Thor smiled and looked at Bruce as they walked back into the living room. "Well, that was easy."

...

Loki sat on the couch beside the cage, his eyes trained on the ball of fluff inside. Bruce chuckled and opened the carrier door, reaching in to get the kitten. She clawed at his hand as if to say; _Leave me alone_!

"Guah, she's a feisty little thing isn't she?" Natasha said.

Bruce nodded and held the kitten out to Loki. He smiled and gently took her from his hands. The little kitten calmed down and looked up at Loki, golden eyes meeting green. She started purring and rubbed her head against his neck. Loki smiled and pet her. She mewed happily and pushed her head into his hand.

"Loki you must be a cat whisperer or something. She's only been clawing and biting us since we got her," Tony said, watching the two.

Loki shrugged and scratched under her chin.

"What are you going to name her?" Steve asked, sitting next to Loki and petting the kitten. She nipped gently at his fingers but otherwise left him alone.

Loki sat thinking for a moment. "I don't know."

"Maybe Noir?" Bruce said.

"Or Umbra?" Phil threw in.

"You could name her Ebony," Natasha said.

"Or Midnight," Steve said.

"_Might I suggest Nox sir_," Jarvis said.

"Nox?" Loki asked, looking up to the ceiling as if he would see Jarvis there.

"_Yes. It means 'night' in Latin_."

"Nox..."Loki said, looking down at the kitten now sitting contently in his lap, watching him. "That sounds good." Everyone else nodded or shrugged in agreement. "Nox it is then."

"We got her some toys and food and stuff too," Tony said, motioning towards the bags.

Loki nodded. He set Nox on the floor, curious as to what she would do. She looked around, confused for a moment before swatting at Steve's shoe string. Steve smiled and reached down to pet her but she grabbed his hand in her paws and started chewing on his fingers.

_"Sir, Mr. Fury wishes to speak with the team. He says it is urgent," _Jarvis said, interrupting the somewhat peaceful moment.

Tony sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Link him through to the television."

The television screen flicked on, showing an image of Fury. "Stark, we have a situ-...Is that a cat?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Yes it's a cat. Now, what?"

"We have a situation. A small portal just closed outside of the city. There are a few Chitauri on site."

Loki froze, shivers running down his spine.

"Shit. How many?" Tony said.

"Only a few, between 20 and 30," Fury replied.

"Thanks." Tony said sarcastically, turning off the TV and grabbing one of his suits. Clint, Natasha, and Steve quickly left the room to get their various weapons. "Bruce, you can stay if you need to." Tony walked out onto the balcony.

Bruce nodded and sat beside Loki, picking up Nox and setting her in Loki's lap even though he still seemed frozen. Phil moved to the chair, slightly closer to them but obviously wanting to stay at a comfortable distance.

Thor grabbed Mjolnir before turning to Loki. " I will _not_ allow them to harm you, bro-Loki."

Loki's gaze flicked up to Thor. Thor couldn't possibly keep that kind of promise could he? He could try but that didn't mean he'd succeed. Loki remembered when they were only young children and Thor had told Loki that he wouldn't let the creatures from his nightmares get him, that he'd keep him safe. Thor hadn't done so before...But everyone made mistakes didn't they? Everyone had there down days.

Loki nodded slightly, his gaze not leaving Thor's. Thor smiled before following Tony out onto the balcony and then taking off, flying out of the city. Loki sat, absent-mindedly petting Nox but staring down at the floor.

Bruce laid a hand on his shoulder, causing him to flinch and look up. Bruce smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, they'll take care of it. You're safe here."

* * *

Tony and Thor were the first to arrive on the scene, soon followed by Steve, Natasha, and Clint in the Quinjet. Most of the Chitauri were ground soldiers and only a few took to the air, all of them immediately started shooting at the team.

"Jarvis how many are there," Tony asked, shooting his repulsors at two of the Chitauri flying around. One of which went down instantly.

"_Twenty-six left sir, seven in the air, nineteen one the ground_," Jarvis replied.

Clint and Natasha had already started shooting many of them, Steve slammed into a few with his shield, while Thor fried most of the rest in the air with lightning. It took them under half an hour to get rid of the Chitauri, there were so few.

Tony sighed and shot off to the tower, followed by Thor, they walked into the living room to find Loki asleep on his back with Nox laying under his chin. The kitten's head looked up and watched them for a moment before curling back up, her purring was audible from where they stood. Thor smiled at the sight and gently stroked the kitten before following Tony into the kitchen. Phil, Bruce, and Pepper where there, talking. Tony grabbed a bottle of brandy and poured a large amount into a glass cup, swallowing most of it in two gulps. Moments later, Steve, Clint, and Natasha walked in, glancing at the still-sleeping Loki before joining everyone else in the kitchen.

There was a few minutes of silence before Clint spoke up. "Why would this Thanos guy send so few Chitauri? There must have been some reason but they couldn't accomplish anything with so few numbers."

"To cause fear," Steve said. "He wants Loki to know that he knows where he is and he wants Loki to be scared of him."

"Yeah, because Loki isn't already terrified of this guy," Tony cut in sarcastically. That left everyone silent, contemplating the facts.

A little meow brought everybody's attention to the little black figure in the doorway.

"Tony, is that a cat?" Pepper said.

Tony nodded and scratched the kitten between her ears. Nox batted at his hand before bounding over to the bag that had the cat-food in it, pawing at it. Natasha smiled and picked up the bag, pouring some food into a bowl and water into the other before setting it infront of the small feline. The room remained silent except for everyone's breathing and the crackle of cat food being crushed in the kitten's jaws.

"It would be a lot easier if we could tell when the portal's were opening up beforehand so we could be ready," Steve said, sitting in one of the stools.

Phil furrowed his brow and turned to Thor who had been silent the whole time. "What about your friend Jane. She was good with predicting when and where they would open. We could bring her here, just for a while until the threat is...subdued."

Thor shrugged but nodded. "It would be nice to see Lady Jane."

"Great, it's settled then, another person coming to live in the tower, of course,"Tony said sounding somewhat annoyed.

* * *

**I actually had a hard time picking a good name for the cat. XD**

**All of the names that the team suggested had been candidates but I settled on Nox. 8D**

**Reviews? Thoughts? Suggestions?**


	11. New Friends

**Woop! Chapter 11!**

**Anyway, I wanted to go ahead and say thank you to all of my reviewers! I'm really glad to know that some people are interested in reading my fics.**

**I do not own any characters.**

* * *

The Quinjet touched down just outside the small town in New Mexico where Jane Foster lived. Thor was the first one out, soon followed by both Clint and Natasha. They followed Thor into town, earning more than a few stares due to the fact that Thor was still in his Asgardian armour. They soon arrived infront of a small RV. Thor knocked on the door, obviously eager to see Jane.

"I'm coming," came the quick reply, followed by a few bangs and crashes from inside before the door opened. Jane immediately smiled and hugged Thor.

Thor smiled and hugged her back. "Oh, it is good to see you again Lady Jane."

"It's nice to see you too!" She looked back into the RV before stepping out and sitting in one of the 5 or so chairs outside. "What are you doing here?"

"We need your help with tracking the opening of the portals so we'd like you to come and stay in Stark Tower with us for a while," Natasha explained.

"Stark Tower? As in New York?" Jane asked incredulously.

Natasha nodded. "We can have SHIELD watch over your property while you're gone."

"How long will I be staying?" Jane asked.

Clint shrugged. "As of right now, we aren't sure."

Jane nodded. "Okay, well, let me grab a few things."

A few minutes later, they all climbed into the Quinjet, everyone but Thor strapping into the seats.

"Why do you need me though?" Jane asked as if the question just came to her.

"It's a rather long story but I have to protect my brother," Thor said.

"Your brother? As in the one that tried to kill you like three times?! The one that tried to take over the world?"

Thor nodded. "Yes but there is more to it than that."

Jane sighed, accepting that as a good enough answer for now.

* * *

Loki sat in the kitchen with Pepper, Phil, Tony, Steve, and Bruce. Natasha had just called in a moment ago telling the team that they would be there any minute.

Loki stared at the glass full of tea on the table infront of him, blocking out the noise of the talking. However, when the elevator dinged, his head snapped up, eyes focused on the elevator doors that opened a moment later. Clint and Natasha walked out first, followed by Thor and a mortal woman that Loki presumed to be Jane.

"So, this is your brother? You don't look alike," Jane said, sitting down beside Loki.

Loki chuckled and looked back at his glass of tea. "I'm adopted."

"Oh...Well, I'm Jane," She said, holding out her hand.

Loki glanced at it before shaking it. "I'm Loki."

"Oh, I remember reading some old myths about you! Is it true you had your lips sewn shut?"

Thor sucked in a breath, glancing quickly at Loki, who tensed to a point where Thor was scared he would snap.

_Loki lay on the cold stone table, struggling against the arms that held him down. "Brother please!" He screamed, tears streaming down his cheeks as he continued to thrash against Thor. _

_Thor looked away. "Loki, do not say anymore. You shouldn't have messed with Sif."_

_Loki opened his mouth to tell him what had happened but instead, a harsh scream tore from his throat as the seamstress dug the bone needle into the skin above his lips._

_Thor held Loki down, trying as hard as he could to drown out the screams from his little brother. Father had promised this was for his own good and that either Thor held him down while it was being done or Loki would be punished in a far more horrible manner._

_The leather thread had been left in Loki's skin for two weeks. Even after it was removed though, Loki had remained silent for over a month afterwards and had never truly forgiven Thor despite his brother's constant apologizing._

He could still feel the needle and leather tearing through his skin, pulling through it, shredding it if he opened his mouth.

"Loki!"

Loki snapped back to reality when Thor called his name and it was only then that he realized Thor's hand was on his shoulder. Loki pushed Thor's hand off and stood up.

"Don't. Touch. Me," He snarled at Thor.

"Brother," Thor started but Loki turned and walked out, walking out on the balcony and slamming the door behind him. Thor immediately started to follow him but Bruce put a hand on his shoulder.

"Give him a minute, Thor," He said.

Jane turned to Thor. "Thor, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to upset him."

Thor sighed and sat in the stool. "It is okay Lady Jane, I should have warned you. It's just a...sensitive subject for him."

"Hold up," Tony interrupted, speaking for the first time. "Are you telling me that Loki actually had his lips sewn shut?"

Thor nodded slightly, not lifting his gaze from the floor. "Yes."

"What the hell is wrong with your father?! Is he just plain stupid?!" Tony continued.

Thor's gaze shot up to Tony's. "Do not insult the AllFather!"

Jane slipped out of the room as they continued arguing, only Bruce noticed she had left. She walked out on to the balcony, slowly going to stand beside Loki. He looked like he had tears in his eyes but she said nothing about it.

"Loki, I'm really sorry. I should have thought more about it first. I didn't meant to upset you, my mouth just gets the better of me sometimes."

Loki stared out over the city. "It's fine, you didn't know any better."

Jane looked out over New York. The view was amazing from up here, then she turned her head and realized what Loki was staring at. Not all of the destruction from the attack over a year ago had been fully restored. Some of the buildings were still in repair.

"If you don't mind, I do have another question though," She said quietly.

Loki regarded her warily a moment before nodding, signalling for her to go on.

"What exactly happened with the whole attack thing a year ago?"

Loki sighed before launching into a long explanation of everything that had happened. Starting with his finding out he was adopted and ending with his arrival on Midgard just recently. By the end, Jane was staring at him with shock written on her face. It was a while before she actually spoke.

"To be honest, just recently I thought you were the most horrible person in the world but now..." Her voice trailed off. "If you ever need anything, just ask. I might not be a therapist or anything but I'd be glad to help."

Loki nodded to her. "Thank you Lady Jane."

Jane smiled. "Just call me Jane, Loki."

Loki smiled back. "Of course." He turned and walked back into the living room where the team now stood or sat, Jane right behind him.

"So, what about the myths about you having children?" She asked brightly, sitting on the other end of the couch than Loki.

Loki laughed. "I'll let you guess about those."

"Oh come on!" Jane said, trying to keep from laughing.

Loki shook his head. Something started tugging at his pants leg and he looked down to see Nox digging her claws into the fabric. Loki leaned down and picked up the kitten, pulling her into his lap.

"Aww, she's adorable," Jane said. "What's her name?"

Loki reached over and grabbed one of the toys Tony and Bruce had bought. "Nox." The toy he grabbed was one of the plastic poles with a few feathers on the end. Loki dragged the end across the floor. Nox hopped down and zeroed in on the feathers, wobbling her back legs before jumping on the feathers. Loki smiled and only looked up from the kitten once Thor sat beside him.

Thor however didn't say anything, he gently picked up Nox and set her beside him, stroking her back. She looked at him for a second as if to say _Peasant, what are you doing? _Thor smiled when she started biting his hand and he flipped her over onto her back, scratching at her belly until she started kicking and clawing at his hand. Thor laughed and pulled his hand away, showing scratches trailing across it. Loki rolled his eyes and scratched Nox under her chin. She purred and hopped into his lap, curling into a ball.

* * *

Later that night, Loki laid on his bed, Nox curled up in-between his feet. Her purring was surprisingly loud but comforting. Multiple things ran through his mind, keeping it too active to allow him to sleep. He couldn't believe Tony and Bruce had got him a cat and even though he wanted to, he couldn't voice his thanks to them. He'd have to figure out some way to do it soon. And then the fact that Thor had brought La- Jane here. He didn't think that Thor would be so comfortable having Jane around Loki after he had threatened to "pay her a visit" all that time ago. He also couldn't believe that she had been so accepting of him. Then the thought he had tried to push down came to the surface. The Chitauri. It sent chills shuddering down his spine despite the fact that he laid under thick blankets. Thanos knew he was on Midgard. He didn't know why Thanos was allowing him to stay. There had to be some ulterior motive. Loki sighed and rubbed his eyes, forcing the thoughts down and finally letting him go to sleep.

* * *

**I'm always glad to read over my reviews and I look at all suggestions. 8D**


	12. Something To Do

**Sorry for the late update everyone! I had a hard time figuring out what exactly to do with this chapter and I was working on another fic too. :3**

**Anyway, sorry for the wait but here's chapter 12!**

**I do not own any characters.**

* * *

A week later and not much had changed. The week had been rather uneventful, thankfully, and everyone was glad for the lack of stress. Nox, Jane, and Phil had all settled in well.

Loki sat in the living room with Tony, Thor, Jane, Bruce, and Steve. Clint, Natasha, and Phil were still sleeping. The TV was on but no one was really paying attention to it. Bruce was reading a book, Steve was reading the newspaper, and Tony,Jane, and Thor were talking nonsense.

"This place is boring," Tony said suddenly. Loki raised an eyebrow.

Bruce set his book down. "And what is it you would rather do Tony? Get drunk or throw a random party?"

Tony seemed to consider the ideas for a moment. "Nah, do those things too much." Bruce rolled his eyes at that.

"What then?" Bruce asked.

Tony sat back on the couch, laying his head against the cushion. "Hm...Let's go out."

"Go out where?" Natasha asked as she and Clint walked out of the elevator.

Tony shrugged. "Out. The tower is getting boring. "

"When are we leaving?" Clint asked.

Tony shrugged again. "Now I guess."

...

Ten minutes later, they stood in the lower floor of Tony's tower. There were rows upon rows of cars. Phil and Pepper had both decided not to go and said they were busy working on something for Stark Industries. Loki looked what they called cars, they ranged in color from black to white.

"So, do you have a car that seats eight people?" Natasha asked sarcastically.

"Nope but I've got a few that seat four and as long as one of you can actually drive a car, we'll be fine," Tony snapped back.

"I can drive fine," Natasha said before going to a white car and getting in the driver's side. Clint sat in the passenger side of the same car. Steve and Bruce got in the back.

Tony rolled his eyes before climbing into a similar black car. Jane sat in the passenger side, leaving Loki and Thor to sit in the back. Tony turned on the radio which Loki tried to drown out as he looked at the window, the buildings and other cars rolling past. They soon stopped infront of a large gate, Natasha pulling up behind them in the white car. The pulled into parking spaces beside each other.

"A zoo, Tony? Really?" Natasha said.

Tony shrugged. "You got a better idea? It's out of the tower isn't it?"

"I'm fine with it here. After all, they don't allow alcohol."

Tony stared at her for a moment before pulling a bottle out of the inside pocket of his jacket and setting it back in the car. "There no alcohol, now let's go in. I've never even been to this zoo before." He turned and led the way through the gates.

Loki looked around the zoo. There were various different animals in an even wider array of enclosures. The first section they came across was of the big cats. A large tiger rubbed against the fence of his enclosure. It watched them with interest before laying down on top of a rock. Beside the tiger enclosure was a small group of lions. Loki was most surprised when the last enclosure held a black leopard. It watched him for a moment and Loki stared back at it until Steve finally pulled him away. Clint seemed particularly happy about the next exhibits as he studied the birds of prey, especially the large hawk. Steve and Jane seemed to like the giraffes and other large animals. Tony and Bruce stayed a bit longer than usual at the wolf exhibit. Thor, of course, kept wanting to go back to all of them.

As they were about to leave, the team was mobbed by a group of fans. Loki and Jane stepped off to the side. They sat on a bench a few feet away and ate some popcorn, watching as they tried to sign and take pictures with all of the fans. Loki was still watching them when he felt a small tap on his knee. He turned to see a little boy, about 7 or 8, looking at him.

"Are you Loki?" The little boy asked, watching him intently.

Loki paused for a minute before smiling, hoping not to frighten him. "Yes, I am."

The boy smiled and held out a coloring book and a marker. "Could you sign this for me?"

Loki chuckled and wrote his name on the inside cover in the bright green ink. "There you go."

The boy smiled. "Thank you!" He ran off to where his parents stood amidst the mob of fans.

...

Tony looked up to check on Loki and Jane. He was still nearly surrounded by fans, but he could make out Loki and Jane sitting on a bench a bit away. Tony smiled at the sight that he saw and quickly got the team's attention before pointing to Loki. "Is that cute or what?" He said. The team watched as Loki signed the coloring book for the little boy, smiling at him the whole time. After a few more minutes, they finally finished up and headed back to Stark Tower.

* * *

Thanos grinned sadistically as the plan formed in his mind. It was so simple and yet so perfect. He pushed himself up from his throne and readied his powers, pulling one of the multiple gems from his belt and preparing to activate it. That was when the Other walked in. Thanos sneered at the sight of him.

"I am going to Asgard, I will be back when the ordeal is finished. You are to stay here and do not send anyone or anything anywhere," Thanos growled.

The Other nodded. "Of course."

Thanos then activated the small gem in his hand and transported himself to Asgard. Within seconds, he stood near the edge of the rainbow bridge that connected the Bifrost to Asgard. He turned slightly, seeing the gatekeeper heimdall standing before the Bifrost.

"Call your king, I wish to speak with him," Thanos said.

Heimdall nearly sneered at the demanding tone in his voice but otherwise obliged. He used a short spell to summon the AllFather and within moments, the King rode out to meet them. Guards surrounded him on three sides and his horse, the mighty Sleipnir, neighed angrily at the sight of the Titan.

"AllFather," Thanos addressed him.

"Thanos. What is it you wished to speak with me about?" Odin asked cautiously, not moving from his horse.

"It is about your frost giant." He spat out the last part as if the idea of Loki sickened him.

Odin's expression visibly tensed. "What of him?"

"If he is not returned to me soon, war will ensue."

"How long is soon?" Odin asked after a moment of silence.

Thanos grinned. "However long I wish it to be." In a small flash of light, he was gone.

Odin sat there for a moment before quickly going back to the palace. He immediately summoned the Warriors Three and they walked in a moment later, kneeling before the throne.

"Yes my king?" Volstagg asked on behalf of the group.

"Go to Midgard and tell Thor that he and Loki need to come here as soon as possible," Odin said.

"And what of his friends, the Midgardians?" Fandral asked.

"They can some if they wish."

The group of three nodded before leaving the palace.

* * *

**Woop! Got any thoughts? I always want to hear them!**

**So, next chapter will probably be better and it should be out sooner than this one. :3**


	13. Something Bad

**Here is chapter 13!**

**I do not own any characters unfortunately.**

* * *

Loki stood outside the private elevator with Thor, Tony, and Jane. Clint, Natasha, Bruce, and Steve had already gone up. A few seconds later, the elevator doors finally opened and the group of four climbed in.

"Jarvis, to the Family Floor please," Tony said.

"Of course sir," Jarvis replied, the elevator starting up a second later.

"So Loki, what was up with you and that kid at the zoo?" Tony asked.

Loki shrugged,"He wanted an autograph."

Tony chuckled. The rest of the short ride was quiet. When the elevator doors opened, they made their way into the kitchen where the rest of the team, including Pepper and Phil, stood.

"So, how was the zoo?" Pepper asked.

There was a chorus of "Fine" and "Good." Pepper rolled her eyes before turning to Loki. "So Loki-"

A loud shatter sounded from the living room. Loki flinched back as everyone except Bruce, Pepper, Jane, and he ran to find the source.

"My friends!" Thor's voice boomed a few seconds later. Loki furrowed his brow and walked into the living room, Bruce, Jane, and Pepper following him. Volstagg, Fandral, and Hogun stood in the living room, infront of a pile of shattered glass and a broken window.

"What is it with you Asgardians and breaking my windows?!" Tony yelled. Pepper sighed and walked back out of the room, pulling her cell phone out in the process.

"I am sorry Man of Iron, I did not mean to break your window," Volstagg said.

"Volstagg, Fandral, Hogun, these are Tony, Steve, Bruce, Clint, Natasha, Phil, and Jane," Thor said motioning to each of them in turn. Fandral smiled charmingly at Natasha, earning a growl from Clint and making Natasha roll her eyes. Loki almost laughed at Fandral's attempts.

"If you don't mind me asking, why are you guys here?" Steve asked.

"The AllFather wishes for Thor and Loki to see him in Asgard," Volstagg said, glancing to where Loki stood at the back of the group. Loki tensed and took a step back. Asgard? There was no way he was going back to Asgard. He felt his hands shaking and clenched them into fists at his side, his knuckles white.

_"Loki Laufeyson -" Odin paused for a moment as he looked at his two sons. "for your atrocious and intolerable acts against Asgard, Midgard, and Jotunheim, you will be sent back to your 'allies' and they may punish you as they deem fit."_

The memory flashed through Loki's mind, seemingly on replay. Odin would just send him back, he wouldn't even care to hear what had happened in the first place. All he would see would be an escaped prisoner that still had a life sentence to be served.

Loki heard Thor's voice, it brought him back to reality but his hands continued to shake. "What for?"

Volstagg shrugged. "I know not the cause, simply that he wishes to see you."

"And what of the team?" He asked, gesturing towards them.

"He said they can come if they wish," Fandral provided.

Thor nodded to them. "Thank you, we will make preparations at once." The Warriors Three nodded before walking out onto the balcony and leaving in a flash of golden light.

The team turned to face him. Thor took a step toward him, opening his mouth to say something but Loki only flinched and stepped back. Thor sighed.

"Loki, if the AllFather wishes to see us, we must at least find out why," Thor said.

Loki shook his head.

"We'll go with you," Tony said, gesturing towards the team. "Well, I will for sure but I bet everyone else if dying to see Asgard." They all nodded their agreement in the matter.

Loki looked warily back at Thor. "I don't know..."

"Come on, we'll all be there and you'll have nothing to worry about," Thor gave him a big smile.

Loki looked down but gave a nod, just the slightest tilt of his head.

Thor smiled even wider, if that was possible. "We make preparations at once then."

* * *

Half an hour later, everyone except Pepper (who insisted she was too busy to take a vacation at the moment), stood in the living room.

"So, everyone ready?" Steve asked. They all nodded, except Loki. He just stood there, looking at the floor, his hands still clenched into fists at his side. Steve clapped a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him before following everyone out onto the balcony. Loki walked out more slowly but otherwise came to stand with the group.

"Heimdall, open the Bifrost!" Thor boomed and within seconds, a golden light enveloped them. Seconds later, they landed in the Bifrost. Steve, Thor, and Loki were the only ones that were able to remain steady when they landed, they all steadied the others of the team to keep them from falling. Loki nearly laughed at how easily they became unbalanced. After they had regained a bit of balance they stared at the golden interior of the Bifrost.

"Good day, my princes," A deep voice addressed them. They turned to see Heimdall standing at the top of the steps in the Bifrost.

"Heimdall," Thor gave a bow of his head.

"I'm hardly your prince anymore, good Heimdall," Loki said softly.

"Loki!" Thor said harshly. "Do not speak of yourself like that!"

Heimdall gave a short laugh. "It matters not how you regard yourself, you are still my prince despite what others may think of you."

Loki gave him a short nod before walking out onto the Bifrost, the others close behind him. He looked out over the beauty of Asgard and wished he was happier to see it but the good memories of his childhood were replaced by those of him being sent back to the Chitauri. The team was obviously captivated by the beauty of Asgard as it took them a few seconds to start walking again, their eyes still trained on the golden skyline. Loki slowed so that he walked closer to the middle of the group, effectively shielded by Thor infront of him, Bruce behind him, and everyone else spanned out around him. As they walked through the village, they earned more than a few stares. Clint and Natasha both had their weapons on them, Tony was carrying one of his suits that was in the shape of a suitcase, and Steve had his shield strapped to his back. It was close to ten minutes later before they reached the palace, its golden walls looming over them. Loki stopped just outside of the palace doors. He was reluctant to actually go in. It took a bit of urging from the team before he slowly walked inside, still in the middle of the group.

"Do you guys use anything other than gold to build with?" Clint asked as they walked down the halls.

"Of course," Thor said. "We use many metals, minerals, and woods."

They came to a stop in the large throne room, just a few meters from the actual throne where Odin sat, Frigga standing by his side. The shaking of Loki's hands had advanced now, throughout his body, and it took most of his control to keep from turning and running out.

"My sons," Frigga said happily. She quickly gave Thor a hug and kissed his cheek before pushing through the small group and hugging Loki too. She placed a hand on his cheek. "It's okay." Loki gave a short nod before returning his gaze back to where Odin sat. Frigga still stood by his side and Bruce on the other with his hand also on Loki's shoulder.

"Father what is it you wished to see us for?" Thor cut to the chase.

Odin sighed wearily. "There is a matter of great importance that must be taken care of."

Loki noticed Frigga furrow her brow. She must not know anything about the situation he spoke of either.

"And that would be?" Thor asked suspiciously.

Odin looked to Loki, with a slight hint of sadness written across his face. "I'm sorry," He said.

A loud voice behind them chuckled, sending shivers up everyone's spines and causing Loki to freeze in place. "I doubt it."

* * *

**I'm so sorry Loki! I'm so sorry. *dies of sadness***

**Thoughts, reviews, and suggestions are all welcome! 8D**

**Next chapter will be out very soon. Tonight or tomorrow. 8D**


	14. Betrayed

**I'm really sorry about that evil cliffie last night guys. It was kind of late but I wanted to put something out for everyone to read. I did promise this chapter would, therefore, be out quickly. So, here it is. 8D**

**I do not own any characters.**

* * *

Loki stood frozen in place, his breathing quickly becoming erratic and his shaking much more pronounced. He tried to turn his head, to move, to speak, something, anything but he couldn't. Only move his eyes, breathe, and shake like he already was. He was held in place and kept silent and only then did he register the slight glow of magic coming from Odin's hand. Odin was holding him in place. The team seemed to be frozen too, as well as Frigga.

Footsteps sounded behind him before the being finally stepped into sight. His golden armour glinted in the light as his crimson eyes locked onto Loki. Thanos smiled at the sight of absolute terror and betrayal in runt's eyes. He nearly chuckled before turning to face the AllFather.

Odin regarded Thanos with disgust evident on his face. "Do not kill him," Odin said sternly.

Thanos grinned. "Of course."He turned back to look at the group standing behind of him, still held in place by Odin's spell. The two Asgardians hate anger shining in their eyes and the Midgardians' had a mixture of hate and shock. Thanos walked over so he stood infront of the runt, towering over him. He grabbed his arm, ready to leave.

Thanos grabbing his arm was what finally allowed Loki to break Odin's spell.

"Thor!" Loki screamed, not caring how pathetic he sounded. He struggled against Thanos' grip, clawing at the hand that held him back. Tears blurred his vision as he tried to get away from the Titan. Loki heard Thanos chuckle behind him and mutter something and in a flash of light, they were gone.

* * *

Thor still in silence even after Odin's spell lifted from them. He then looked at Odin where he sat and felt a rage boiling up in him. "HOW DARE YOU!" He shouted. "Loki trusted us when we brought him here! We told him he would be fine! That he would be safe! What is wrong with you?!"

"I have to do what is best for the realms Thor, you know that," Odin replied calmly.

"So you would just trade your son off like he is some kind of pawn?" Jane asked.

Odin glared at him. "You are not one to question my actions Midgardian."

Tony scoffed at him. "And here I thought my father was bad."

"Do not question my abilities as a father either," Odin snarled, his voice rising in anger and volume.

"You know what, I agree with you for once Stark," Natasha said before turning back to Odin. "You obviously need help on learning how to treat your children."

"I treated my sons-"

"No. We didn't treat them both right," Frigga cut in, effectively silencing him.

"Wait, wait, wait," Steve cut in. "Why did you give Loki back to Thanos?" He asked as if still trying to process everything.

"Thanos threatened the realms with war if Loki wasn't returned to him," Odin said addressing him.

Thor opened his mouth to say something before Bruce spoke up. "And you just gave him back?! I thought you were supposed to be "wise" or something like that?!" Bruce's eyes had a bright green tint and his hands were clenched into fists at his side. Thor took a step back from him, just in case he lost control.

Odin stared at them. "I think it's time you leave with your Midgardians Thor."

Thor turned quickly, striding out of the room not bothering to say anything else. Everyone followed him after sending a few last glares at Odin. They had just made it out of the palace when Frigga caught up to them and Thor stopped briefly.

"Mother, please tell me you knew nothing of this," Thor said quietly.

She shook her head, tears welling in her eyes. "I knew not of what your father had planned. I would never have allowed for Loki to be taken back." Her voice cracked. Thor pulled her into a hug.

"Do you wish to come back to Midgard with us, Mother?" Thor asked, when she pulled away a few moments later.

She shook her head, wiping away a few tears. "I believe that Thanos will pursue war with us despite your father's actions. I need to stay here."

Thor gave a short nod. "Of course, if you should need anything, you know where I am."

Frigga nodded. "And you I." She turned then and walked back into the palace.

With that, they walked back through Asgard but the former beauty of the golden realm seemed stained by the recent events. It was silent the whole time as well, nobody cared to speak, not even Heimdall bid them farewell as he drove his sword into the stand in the middle of the Bifrost. Seconds later, they landed on the balcony outside of the Family Floor. Thor quickly left, heading down to his floor while everyone else settled in in the living room. Nox came bounding in as soon as they arrived. She mewed happily and looked at each of them, as if she was looking for Loki.

Bruce smiled sadly and picked her up. "Her girl, it's okay." He stroked her fur. She pushed her head into his hand and curled up beside him on the couch. She didn't purr though, as if she felt the downcast attitude of the room.

* * *

Frigga walked back into the palace. Unfortunately, she would have to walk through the throne room to get to her chambers. Odin still sat on the throne, his head in his hands as if he actually felt some remorse for what he had done. He looked of at the sound of her footsteps as she entered the room.

"Frigga-"

"Do not speak to me," Frigga growled, walking on past him and turning right and walking down the corridor to her chambers. Odin wisely left her alone.

As soon as Loki felt the hard ground return under his feet, his wrists were bound in shackles that subdued his magic.

* * *

"Welcome home," Thanos chuckled. He turned to some of the Chitauri standing near him. "Chain him up in the throne area, he apparently needs to remember his role here."

Loki nearly whimpered but forced himself to remain silent. If he spoke, it would only cause him more pain. A few Chitauri grabbed him roughly and dragged him away, attaching the rings on his shackles to hooks on some rocks protruding from the ground. One of the Chitauri grabbed something off of the ground and walked back into Loki's view. He recognized another muzzle in the Chitauri's hand and drew his head back, as far as he could away. His attempts were useless though and the piece of metal was forced roughly over his jaw. A few moments later, Loki heard the unmistakable sound of a whip unfurling. Just a second later, a searing pain ripped through his back. Loki shuddered, knowing this was only the beginning.

* * *

**Oh god, I'm sorry Loki...**

**Reviews, thoughts, and suggestions are always welcomed!**


	15. Broken

**So, here is chapter 15. 8D**

** Everyone; Sorry, I'm really not good at writing grief (well, i guess you would call if grief). However, if enough of you say in the reviews that you would like to see a more...violent reaction to Odin, I will re-write that part of the chapter. So, make sure to put something about that if you would like to see a change. *It will not be a change in the plot line, just the details.***

**I do not own any characters.**

* * *

Two days after the team had returned from Asgard, the mood in the tower was still downcast. Thor hadn't been seen since the day they had returned.

Tony stood in the kitchen, bottle of scotch in hand, he'd rarely put it down since they got back. He wasn't good with emotions and he didn't feel like dealing with them now so he would push them back and blur them with the burn of alcohol. Tony turned his attention to the elevator when the doors whooshed open, revealing Thor.

"Hey Point Break, nice to see you out of your room," Tony said, his voice slurring a bit.

Thor glanced at him and nodded before sitting at the island counter.

"Want something to eat?" Tony either didn't see that Thor didn't want to talk or otherwise didn't care.

Thor shook his head.

He set his bottle down and watched Thor closely for a minute, he seemed to be deep in thought. "What's on your mind?"

"I thought maybe...Maybe you and Banner could try and find some way to get him back," Thor said quietly.

Tony sighed. He was a man of science and mechanics, not magic and what Thor was asking was definitely a bit out of his reach but he couldn't tell Thor that. Thinking it over, he also realized he had nothing else to work on. He shrugged. "We can try but I can't guarantee anything."

Thor gave a small smile. "Thank you though."

Tony nodded and walked out of the room. "Jarvis, tell Bruce to meet me in the lab."

"Of course sir," Jarvis replied as Tony walked into the elevator. The ride down was silent and only a few minutes later, Tony stood outside of the lab's door, waiting on Bruce.

"Hey Tony," Bruce said as he walked around the corner from the elevator. "What is it?"

Tony turned and walked into the lab, Bruce following him in. "I want to see if there is any way possible that we could try and replicate something similar to the tesseract. Thor asked if we could try and find some way to get Loki back."

Bruce sighed and walked over to one of the screens. "And how are we supposed to do this? Where do we even start?"

Tony pulled up some images and statistics on one of the screens. "I guess with energy readings and things from the tesseract."

Bruce nodded. "Let's get started then."

* * *

Loki sat curled up in the corner of the cell, blood coating the floor beneath him. The wounds on his back hadn't healed all the way due to the constant abuse. He flinched back, pulling further into the corner when he heard footsteps coming. Soon, a few Chitauri walked in and they grabbed the shackles holding his wrists. He cringed away but knew better than to struggle against them. They quickly brought him into the larger throne area where Thanos sat waiting. Loki swallowed in fear and pulled back against the Chitauri. They only pulled harder though and he was quickly chained to the ground infront of Thanos.

Thanos smiled and stroked the blade of a large knife in his hands. "Ahh, my pet. I need you...incapacitated for a while," Thanos chuckled, walking down to stand infront of him causing Loki to gulp and flinch back. The titan smiled and looked at the blade in his hand for a moment, the violet colored liquid dripping from it, before plunging it through Loki's right shoulder.

Loki whimpered in pain, the blade thrust to the hilt into his shoulder. He felt the warm trail of blood trailing down his chest and his back. Thanos twisted the blade, eliciting a short scream of pain, before pulling it out. Seconds later, Loki's arm and chest burned as the poison trailed through his bloodstream. A sudden burst of fire erupted as the poison reached his heart. Loki screamed again and writhed in agony. Thanos grin widened before he nodded to the Chitauri soldiers. "Place him back in the cell."

The Chitauri grabbed him, barely keeping a hold of him as he writhed in pain. As they dragged him from the room, Loki heard one last order from Thanos.

"Prepare for war."

The words had barely registered in Loki's mind before his head exploded in pain as the poison reached his brain. He shuddered and barely noticed as he hit the floor of his cell. Loki only laid there writhing in agony as the poison coursed through his body.

"Loki, there you are."

Loki looked up at the sound of Tony's voice. "T-Tony?" Loki gasped out.

Tony laughed and crouched over him. "You're such a pathetic excuse for a Jotun, even more so for an Asgardian. I don't even know how Thor can stand to call you his brother. "

"B-but," Loki gasped out, tears piling up in his eyes.

Tony morphed into an image of Bruce. Bruce's eyes were green as he crouched over him. "I wish the Hulk would have killed you when he had the chance. It would have saved us the problem of having to deal with you. All you are is an unfortunate burden, a worthless mistake on Odin's part."

Seconds later, the image of Bruce turned into one of Thor. "Brother please." Loki gasped out.

"I am not your brother," Thor sneered. "I regret every time I called you my brother, every moment I had to spend with you was a waste of my time. I can't believe father that you could be of any use. You'd barely do good as a doormat, I could find better things to wipe my feet on."

For minutes, hours, or days, Loki couldn't tell, the images played through his mind; taking on the forms of everyone in the team and even Odin and Frigga. He knew in some part of his mind that the images weren't real, that they were just an effect of the poison in his body but it didn't keep him from believing them, from believing he was nothing more than a worthless monster.

* * *

Odin sat in the throne room, his spear Gungnir in his hand. Immediately after Thor and the Midgardians had left, Odin had bumped up the amount of guards around Asgard. He also had the soldiers and warriors prepare for the worst. He didn't trust Thanos in the slightest but he had wished to prolong the amount of time he had before the realms were launched into another war. Of course, they had beat Thanos once before, surely it could be done again, even if he now had the forces of the Chitauri. Of course, Asgard and Midgard also had Thor now and the Midgardian Avengers. If Thanos dared to kill Loki, Odin would start the war himself.

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**So...who can't wait for chapter 16? XD**

**It'll be out soon, I promise. My friend got me caught up in a Loki/OC RP. XD**

**Reviews, thoughts, and suggestions are all helpful! And don't forget to vote if you would like for me to re-write that part of the last chapter.**


	16. Shattered

**Here is chapter 16. :3**

**Fair warning: More violence/torture...and Loki feels.**

**I do not own any characters.**

* * *

Tony sighed, sitting back in his chair and running a hand through his hair.

"This isn't working," Tony said exasperatedly.

Bruce chuckled, looking at Tony over the rim of his glasses. "We've only been at it for a couple of hours Tony."

"I know but I usually have at least something within the first hour and a half," Tony snapped.

Bruce smiled back at him. "You might actually need a bit of patience."

Tony rolled his eyes and pulled up a few readings on his tablet.

"Sirs, there appears to be some kind of electrical interference on the Family Floor," Jarvis interrupted about fifteen minutes later.

Tony furrowed his brow. "Okay, we'll be up there in a second, have everyone else meet us up there."

"Of course sir," the AI replied.

"What do you think it is?" Bruce asked as they walked into the elevator.

Tony shrugged. "No idea. Jarvis, speed up the elevator would you?"

"Yes sir." The elevator picked up a bit of speed and they arrived on the Family Floor only seconds later. Pepper, Phil, Jane, Thor, Steve, Clint, and Natasha stood in the living room, waiting on Bruce and Tony. Thor was holding Nox, petting the kitten gently behind her ears as she gnawed at his fingers.

"What is it Stark?" Natasha asked, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Jarvis said there was an electrical interference coming from up here and I didn't like the idea of it so I had you guys come up here too," Tony said.

A voice chuckled, startling everyone. They looked around wildly for the source but saw no one. "That interference would be me." A dark image appeared on the beige colored wall infront of them. They stood frozen in horror at the scene before them.

* * *

Frigga sighed irritably. Odin wanted to see her for some reason and though she didn't want to see him she found herself walking towards the throne room where he spent most of his time lately. The golden halls of Asgard seemed dull with her knowing that her son was in the hands of the monster he was so terrified of. She hated Odin for harming Loki in the first place and hated herself for not realizing her husband's plans earlier. Surely he must have known that it wouldn't work, that Thanos would still attack. As she walked into the large throne room, she found Odin speaking to Sif and the Warriors Three. The four of them bowed as she entered the room. Frigga nodded her head toward them before turning to Odin, waiting on him to say something.

"Frigga-" He began but he was cut off.

"Oh, I'm sure she doesn't want to hear any more of your lies AllFather," a voice snarled.

"Show yourself Thanos," Odin growled, standing up with Gungnir poised for battle in his hand.

"Oh, but that is not what I came to do," Thanos purred. He was nowhere in sight but his voice reverberated through the room. An image suddenly appeared before them, as if it was showing on a transparent screen. Their eyes were glued to the horrific scene before them. "I simply wished to show you the after-effects of your lies."

* * *

Expressions of horror and disgust riddled the team's faces as they watched the scene unfold before them. There were hundreds upon hundreds of Chitauri roaring and jeering at something that was happening. Thanos sat in a throne at the end of a long isle, a large sword in his lap. A smile spread across his face as he looked down the isle. Two Chitauri soldiers walked down it, dragging something between them. Tony started to step forward to see what it was but the view suddenly zoomed in. It was Loki. Tony sucked in a breath and stepped back, looking around and seeing the team recognized him too. Loki's shirt was shredded and blood trailed down his body. His skin was burned and bleeding in multiple places and a bone in his left arm jutted out awkwardly, leaving his arm swollen. His legs dragged out behind him as if they couldn't even support his weight, and he kept his head down as if he didn't have the energy to lift it. The two Chitauri chained Loki to the ground infront of Thanos. He sat there on his knees, facing the ground. Thanos walked forward until he was standing right infront of Loki, causing him to shrink back.

"Get up runt," Thanos growled.

Loki didn't move which didn't please Thanos. He held out his hand and one of the Chitauri placed a rod in his hand. One end of it was white hot and Thanos smiled before pressing it against Loki's chest and repeating himself. Loki screamed and struggled to stand up, barely pushing himself into a standing position. The Chitauri roared at his pain, and Thanos seemed pleased as he tossed the rod behind him. He started circling the prisoner, as if he was examining him. Loki lifted his head for the first time; one of his eyes was swollen, a gash ran down his right cheek, and the skin on either side of his jaw had been seemingly scraped off. He watched Thanos carefully, still edging away from him. The titan leaned down and whispered something in Loki's ear before looking up, as if he could tell exactly where the team was watching from, which, he probably did. He smiled at them before driving the blade straight through his heart. Loki gasped, falling back to his knees and blood poured down his chest, a silent scream written on his face as Thanos twisted the blade before pulling it out. He shuddered, trying to draw in a few more breaths. But it was a losing battle as his breaths became shallow only seconds later, blood still draining from the wound. Loki's usually glowing, green eyes dimmed, the light slowly fading from them and a moment later, he fell limp to the ground. The crowd of Chitauri roared as Thanos cleaned the blade of his sword, wiping away the blood as it was nothing more than a speck of dust. The image began to fade until there was no trace of it left.

"Loki!" Thor screamed, finally bringing Tony back to reality. Thor was staring open mouthed at the place where the image had been, his eyes threatening to overflow with tears. He was shaking, with rage or sadness Tony couldn't tell. Nox jumped down from Thor's arms and sat on the couch, watching them all.

Tony turned slowly, looking at everyone else. Pepper and Jane had tears trailing down their cheeks, Bruce, Phil, and Steve were frozen still, Clint and Natasha were still staring as well. Tony's mind felt overwhelmed, blurred even. Loki was gone, he was dead and they hadn't been able to do anything to stop it. Their mischievous Norse God was gone for good. He wouldn't be seen around the tower reading books, or petting Nox, or watching movies with them. He wouldn't go with them to the zoo and stare in wonder at the animals or smile thankfully when someone gave him something. He wouldn't do anything. He was dead. Tony felt tears in his eyes even though he wasn't one to cry, especially not infront of people. He quickly excused himself from the room, grabbing a few bottle of various alcoholic drinks before locking himself on his floor, hiding himself away from the team.

...

Thor grabbed Mjolnir and quickly flew out of the city, landing in a forested area miles away. Shouting in rage, he snapped trees as though they were toothpicks and scorched the ground around him with lightning. He had failed to save his little brother from a death no doubt filled with pain and terror. Thunder boomed and the rain fell, mirroring the Thunder God's anguish. His tears mixed with the rain pouring down in torrents. It felt like hours later before his rage finally faded from him, leaving only exhaustion and sadness in its wake. Thor stood in the middle of the clearing he had made, trees laying demolished around him. He thought about Loki's last moments, rage filling him again at the thought of Thanos harming his brother. Thanos would pay, Thor was sure of it. It he had to hunt the titan for the rest of his life, so be it but Thanos would regret ever touching Loki.

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**I'm sorry...but before you go hitting that delete button to this story, stick around for a while longer at least. **

**Reviews, thoughts and suggestions are always welcome. **


	17. Strained

**So, if you're reading this, than you stuck around. 8D**

**Don't worry, here's the next chapter.**

**I do not own any characters.**

* * *

Sif only stared as Loki was struck dead. Even he didn't deserve to die like that, tortured and terrorized. She looked around and saw similar looks of horror on everyone's faces. A scream of anguish tore through the golden halls as Lady Frigga sank to her knees, her face in her hands. Sobs shuddered through her. Sif turned to approach her but Odin was quicker. He laid on a shoulder and crouched down beside her but she pushed him away.

"Don't you touch me! This is YOUR fault! Our son is dead because of you!" Frigga screamed at him, tears running down her face. Her voice cracked a bit as she struggled to breathe properly.

"Frigga," he began.

She drew her hand back and slapped him, causing Sif to flinch. "I do not wish to here any more of your lies!" She turned quickly, leaving the room. Sif turned back to look at the AllFather, a large red-mark appearing on his face. He was staring at the floor, his expression was hard to decipher.

A second later, the golden doors slammed open, one of the generals rushing in. He bowed before the AllFather, his eyes lingering slightly over the red-mark on his face. "My King, hordes of Chitauri are amassed on the bridge and just outside of the village."

The AllFather's eyes flashed dangerously. "Send our forces to meet them."

The armoured general nodded before leaving quickly. Odin turned to the Warriors Three as soon as he had left. "Will you join the battle?"

"Of course," Volstagg said. Fandral and Hogun nodded in agreement.

"Go on then," he said. They left quickly.

"And what of me, My King?" Sif asked.

"Would you go to Midgard and bring Thor and his mortal friends back? We need everything we can to defeat the Chitauri and ultimately Thanos. If there are Chitauri on Midgard, they can stay but it seems the majority of them are here," Odin said.

Sif nodded. "How am I to get to the Bifrost if the Chitauri block the bridge?"

"I can take care of that," Odin said. He mumbled a set of words under his breath and Sif quickly found herself in the Bifrost. She turned quickly, looking out over the bridge and the city. The golden armoured warriors of Asgard stood pushed against the city walls, facing down the droves of Chitauri that stood there. Sif nearly gasped at the sheer amount of Chitauri soldiers. Looking up, she saw four to five Chitauri ships, one of them being much larger than the others, probably the ship where Thanos was. A roar shattered the silence of the battlefield as three leviathan monsters were launched from some of the ships. This seemed to break the previous stillness of the armies as a Chitauri general screeched an order and they drove forward. Asgard's warriors met them head-on, launching into a horrific battle. Sif quickly turned away.

"Lady Sif, you are to go to Midgard?" A deep voice asked. She turned to see Heimdal.

"Yes."

Heimdal nodded and plunged his sword into the stand. Seconds later, Sif felt the sensation of shooting through space.

...

Sif stumbled slightly as she landed on the balcony outside of the large tower on Midgard. The rain soaked her to her skin almost instantly and the thunder boomed around her. She sighed sadly, knowing it was Thor that was causing the storm.

A particularly loud crash of thunder sounded as Thor crashed down beside her. He watched her cautiously. "What is it you want Sif?" He asked quietly. His voice cracked once but he quickly tried to hide it, simply watching her with downcast eyes.

She sighed. "Thor, I'm so sorry," she said quietly.

Thor looked away. "I wish not to speak of it."

Sif nodded. "Of course," she paused for a moment, looking out over the city. "Asgard is being attacked."

"I care not if Asgard was burning to the ground, it means nothing to me now."

She was taken aback but shook her head, knowing he didn't really mean it. "Thor...Thanos is likely there, most of the Chitauri ships seem to be."

Thor tensed. "Come inside with me for a moment."

Sif nodded again and followed him inside. Most of the Midgardian team was sitting there on the different couches and chairs. As she walked in, the missing member, the Man of Iron, walking on through a door on the opposite side of the room. "What now?" He asked irritably.

Sif opened her mouth to say something but Thor cut her off. "The Chitauri attack Asgard."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Bruce asked, standing up. "Let's go." The team nodded in agreement.

"What if the Chitauri attack here?" A blonde-haired woman asked.

"I'm pretty sure the U.S. and S.H.I.E.L.D. could handle it, especially if most of the forces are on Asgard Pepper," the Man of Iron said.

"So, are we going then?" A red-haired woman asked.

"I am," Steve said. Most of the team nodded in agreement. Some of them, left the room to get ready.

Sif stood, crossing her arms over her chest. She noticed a black feline with golden eyes sitting on one of the couches. Sif smiled and walked over, reaching out to scratch the small feline. It hissed at her and clawed at her hand. Sif laughed. "She reminds me of someone," Sif said quietly. About ten minutes later, the rest if the team came walking back in, adorned in various pieces of armour.

"Are we ready to go then?" Thor asked.

They nodded. One of the woman walked forward, hugging Thor. "Be safe," she whispered.

Thor hugged her back. "Of course Lady Jane."

Sif nearly growled at their exchange of affection but kept quiet. [XDD Had to. :3] "If we're ready then..." She said.

They nodded. Sif walked outside and they quickly followed.

"Heimdal, open the Bifrost," Thor said loudly. Seconds later, a golden light enveloped them as they shot through space back to Asgard.

* * *

Thanos sat on his throne, drumming his fingers. He smiled as he watched the destruction that was already plaguing the two opposing armies. Both sides had already suffered many casualties but both seemed to be holding well. Turning his attention from the battle going on below, he twirled a medium-sized gem in his hand. The image he had conjured earlier was still being displayed. He couldn't believe the Midgardians and Asgardians were gullible enough to even consider that he would give up his play toy to Death so easily. Thanos wasn't quite finished with the Jotun runt yet.

Thanos turned to one of the Chitauri in the room. "Bring him to me," he ordered. The soldier nodded before quickly leaving the room, returning moments later with the prisoner before leaving again. Thanos slowly walked up to the figure kneeling on the ground, grabbing the runt's jaw, he forced his face upward to look at him. The green eyes were filled with hate and fear. "They'll never come for you now," he snarled. "You're dead to them."

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**So...I figured I might as well explain a bit of it now. :3**

**Extreme Loki death feels averted, at least slightly. XD**

**Reviews, suggestions, and thoughts are always welcome! 8D**


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